Friendship
by RockIll
Summary: Friendships are made at the strangest time and with the strangest people and things.HarryTonks Harry finds out some things about himself,and Tonks learns more about Harry R
1. The Friendship

**_ Friendship_**

**_The Friendship_**

_**Friendships are made at the strangest time and with the strangest people and things. Harry/Tonks. Harry finds out some things about himself, and Tonks learns more about Harry**_**_. Post OoTP  
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Harry waved one last time to everyone at the train station before heading off with the Dursleys. Sadness overwhelmed his senses at the thought of seeing Sirius at the train station just last September. He shook the tears that were threatening to fall out of his eyes. He pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind and tried to focus on something else.

His attention fell upon the Dursleys. One look at them brought more tears to his eyes. But this time, the tears were tears of mirth. Each one of the Dursleys seemed to be scared out of their wits. Uncle Vernon was amazingly red, almost surpassing the Weasleys' hair, which was enough to make Harry laugh deep in his throat. That laugh quickly turned into a cough as soon as Uncle Vernon shot him a glare.

Uncle Vernon's body mass expanded, almost three-times pass its normal bulge, shocking some of the civilians on the train station. Truthfully, he looked as a frightened blowfish would. Aunt Petunia looked just as frightened as Vernon but was trying her best to hide it behind her horse-like, benign face, that itself was enough to scare someone out of their mind. Dudley just looked lost, like a baby whale separated from his mother. Harry shot him a pitiful glance.

Harry knew that Dudley had been kick out of school: Dudley had decided he wanted a girlfriend and went looking for her, in the girls' bathroom. "It's where they all go!"

Though, that was not what had put him on the receiving end of an expulsion, it was good enough to make every girl in the school even more sick of him. _If that was possible._ What was worst, they had compared him to Harry. That was traumitizing for Dudley. He did the worst possible thing he has ever done; he hit a few of the girls.

Harry's 'wizard spy' in the school, Mark Evans, who was coming to Hogwarts this year, told Harry so via email. Mark was going to be fourteen in a month or two. Since, Mark's parents took trips to different countries each year; it was not surprising that a Hogwarts letter was never sent to him. Harry did not think twice about him, but because his last name was Evans, and the fact that he had green eyes, gave away that in some way they were related to one another. They found from Mark's mom that they were distant cousins by both of their maternal sides, much to Mrs. Evans and her family's pleasure.

They reached car with Vernon throwing murderous looks towards Harry. Harry could care less about those look, one could call him immune to glares. He paused though, the second time he and Uncle Vernon linked eyes. There was something funny about those looks that did not bode well with Harry: something happy, that sent shivers down Harry's spine. His face was purple with indignity and fury when they excited the train station. Harry was shoved, roughly, into the car. But, nevertheless, he kept his mouth closed as Vernon stuffed his things in the trunk viciously. Harry thanked goodness that Aunt Petunia had the brains to remove to owl cage and hand it over to Harry, albeit in disgust.

Dudley scooted all the way to the window, acting as if he were to touch Harry he would receive a sickness. Harry, once again, could not care any less how they acted or felt about him. He was happy if people, mainly the Dursleys, stayed away from him, but he would be happy if the Dursleys left him alone for a very different reason than everyone else.

Anyone who came around him was attacked. Anyone he _cared_ about was attacked. Hermione and Ron had been targeted because they were his best friends. He was sure that their families were next. His parents were attacked for being his, well, parents and protecting him. _Sirius_…

He tried stop thinking for a moment. His brain froze when the subject of Sirius Black came up.

Sirius was attacked for being his godfather and guardian. Harry started arguing with himself over his guilt again.

_It is unconditionally my fault! **It is Lestrange's fault.**_

One half believed he was guilty and that it was his entire fault. Harry agreed with this side. If it weren't for him, his parents and Sirius would still been alive. Ron, Hermione and many others wouldn't have had to worry themselves sick over him.

It was his fault. He was responsible for all of the death and destruction.

**_Oh this is just silly._** A voice in his head said.

_It is my fault_. Harry argued back, thinking about how he lead the DA members into the Ministry of Magic.

**_That was not your fault. It was a plot by Voldemort! Let's face it, he's too smart for you._**

_Exactly! All those people who were killed around me, were killed by Voldemort to get to me. _The opposite party gave a frustrated sigh.

Before _he_ could answer himself, the car screeched to a halt. Harry was too busy calming the frantic Hedwig down to hear what his Aunt and Uncle were talking about in frantic whispers. _Probably trying to find a nice way to dispose of me!_ When he finally realized that there was honking coming from the cars behind him, he looked up and began to worry about their conversation. However, as soon as Uncle Vernon started moving the car, he was back in his little world.

Harry sat in the car like an empty shell. The rest of the car ride to the Dursleys was quiet. Harry sat still as stone, doing nothing but staring out of the car window. All of the time, Dudley shooting glances at Harry as though he was going to sprout bunny ears at any time. Harry still paid no attention. He continued to stare out of the window. He had a feeling, a feeling he was being watched. His eyes caught something that made him finger his wand.

A figure was watching him closely from the side walk. The fact that they were cloaked in black robes went oddly unnoticed by the people around him. _A Notice-Me-Not charm probably._ The person stood in front of an old coffee shop. That was also odd because he was sure that used to be an ice cream parlor. _Focus Harry! _The person was watching them as they went through the stoplight. Harry quickly got out his wand. He knew one Death Eater was enough to kill, probably, every muggle out here, but they usual hunted in packs. Dudley squealed, like the pig he was, once he saw the wand that was now in Harry's hand.

"_BOY_! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU DOING. PUT THAT AWAY _NOW_." His Aunt screeched. Harry jumped, but ignored her and kept staring out the window.

"Keep driving, I think were picking up some bad company." Harry said dryly. Dudley paled, obviously remembering the Dementors from last year. Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon shared one look before shutting up completely.

The ride home, Harry knew was understandably unbearable to the Dursleys. They had been threatened two times in less than one hour by wizards, once at the train station, another on the road.

As soon as the car entered the driveway, Harry grabbed Hedwig's cage and jumped out of the car. Uncle Vernon popped the trunk and Harry dragged his trunk into the house with one hand. It was very uncomfortable. He felt a slight tingle, but it went away as quick as it came. When he reached the stairs, he realized that Uncle Vernom had not unlocked the door. There was a gasp from Dudley as he waddled away to go and tell his parents. Harry only half noticed him.

_Oh no, I did magic out of school!_

**_It was accidental magic don't worry about it._**

_I__ did accidental magic before and got in trouble! Hell, a _house elf_ came here and did magic, that got me in trouble too!_

Harry started up the stairs. He felt the Dursleys' eyes on him. He felt the fear and tension in the air. They were scared of him. _Oh, this is going to be a splendid summer,_ he thought sarcastically.

His eyes landed on the still opened door, that the Dursleys were trying desperately not to touch and yet to close. _Then again, maybe not so good if I'm going to be expelled from school for doing accidental magic_.

He dragged his things up the stairs. The multi-locked and bolted door, _my door_, flew open just like the front door had.

He felt another tingle, this one stronger than first. He was all of a sudden very tired. He caught himself from falling backward by leaning against the doorway.

_There is too much magic being used_. _The Ministry is going to have a field day!_

His room carried the same dreary characteristic as it had before he left. He sighed and kicked at the tank that used to house a turtle before Dudley found out that it was moving too slow and tied it to a firecracker. _Poor turtle_. Honestly, Harry had believed the turtle and Dudley moved at the same pace. He sat his trunk at the foot of the bed. He put Hedwig on the desk. He sat in his chair and looked at his trunk. After further inspection on his trunk, he gasped. He edged forward looking at the markings on the trunk.

He was about to closer look at it, but Uncle Vernon's voice resonated through the half-opened door and stopped him.

He tiredly approached the sitting room. The Dursleys were sitting there as though Christmas had come early, or Harry was not ever going be visiting them again. _Whatever they want to see me for must be horrible_. He sat in the bareback chair, _the only chair he was allowed to sit in_. Dudley looked happy about something, happier than usual. That made the situation worser.

"Boy, '_that name is getting on my nerves_', your Aunt and I will not stand for any of your laziness." Aunt Petunia's left eye twitched. "So we talked to some of the neighbors who needed help around the house and yards, and you will be helping them. No complaining whatsoever, now, you began tomorrow." He raised his bulging finger. "And if I get word that you're not doing your job then you will be locked in that cupboard for the rest of the summer."

Harry nodded and agreed shocking both the Dursleys and himself. He ran back up to his room and sat on his bed. After staring at nothing for who knows how long, he went back to looking at the trunk. He studied it for hours till he heard his stomach growl.

"I'm never going to understand these markings. Where's Hermione when you need her?" Harry whispered to himself. His stomach growled again._ I wish I had something to eat_.

Harry felt a tingle and was tired again. There was a _'pop_' and he jumped when a piece of steak appeared on the table. He stared at it for a few seconds before he realized it had landed on a few papers.

_Crap_! He quickly grabbed the meat and, after inspecting it, he threw it in the bin. He looked at the mess on the table in agony. There was a tingle in the back of his mind and the grease from the steak disappeared from the table. He ran to the trash bin and saw that the steak was still there.

He gave himself a small shake and tried to focus. Fourteen tries and four messes later, he managed to conjure a steak with a plate underneath it.

_Oh, I can get a plate of food, but I can't get a fork._ A fork suddenly appeared in the steak.

_I really can get used to this! _He gave the steak a tentative bit. It was really _good_.

Harry ate his food in wonderment. He kept glancing towards the window expecting to see a Ministry owl. Maybe the Ministry could not detect Wandless Magic; he did ignite his wand without touching it last year. The Ministry had said nothing about him using the Lighting Charm at his trial,_ if you could have called it a trial_. Maybe, just maybe, since he was not touching his wand so the Ministry could not detect it.

Wandless Magic.

_But what about the Aunt Marge accident, that was accidental magic, wasn't it. The door opening was probably accidental magic. I mean, I didn't use my wand. The food could have been wandless. What's the difference between wandless and accidental? Maybe I should look more in to this, before rushing into this._ He told himself.

_Like I did with Sirius..._

Harry spent the next to few minutes arguing with himself over it. He finally agreed with himself that it was Voldemort's fault. It was Harry's job to destroy the bastard. How was he going to do it was the problem. He did not know _half_ of the spells that Voldemort knew, nor did he have any experience in the Dark Arts. _Face it, there was no way I am going to destroy Voldemort_. He was defenseless. He had nothing that could defeat the Dark Lord.

_No, there is a way, I know that there is._

Harry undressed after seeing how late it was and dived into bed. He kept on wishing the same things over and over again. _I wish I knew how to defeat him. I wish I had the power, knowledge, and strength to do it_. But what could he do, he was an _infant_ compared to Voldemort. If only he was developed in mind and magic, maybe he could do something about Voldemort. He closed his eyes, wishing he were mature enough to destroy Voldemort at least to keep him under control.

Harry felt a tingle deep inside him. The tingle grew rapidly, turning into a burn. Harry tried to move but found out that none of his senses worked. He could neither see, or hear, nor move, scream, or smell. The burn grew just as Harry's attempts to fight it grew. The burning went from his head to his feet and grew stronger. The burn washed over him like liquid fire or plain fire and lava.

Then, it abruptly stopped. Harry tried to open his eyes but found that he still could not. His body was numb but it felt as though it was preparing itself for something.

Something inside him exploded. His very soul felt as though it was on fire. The fire hurt worrier than the Crucio Curse multiplied tenfold. The fire felt as if it was running through his very veins. Harry continued to try and fight it. Then something else exploded giving the expression of being electrocuted. He felt as though lightening was electrocuting him.

Harry was hit by a lightening bolt shock when he was six. He was running in the park during a storm to get away from Ripper, Marge's dog, but even that did not compare to this.

Everything went numb again. Harry felt his mind slip into a sleep like state. He could not think or feel anything. He was at ease in mind and body; He was untroubled and unperturbed. He cracked open a stinging eye open to see very bright lights surrounding him. The stinging increased and Harry closed his eyes before falling into a blissful, tranquilized sleep.

Harry stiffly woke the next morning. His eyes were still hurt, but when he opened them he realized his vision was blurry. He reached over to his bedside table only to realize the glasses where still on his face. He took them off for cleaning.

He blinked his eyes. He blinked them slowly, then faster. _This could not be real!_ His eyesight was better _without_ the glasses.

Harry sat his glasses on the table and looked around the room amazed. His glasses never allowed him to see _this_ clear. He could see everything down to the dust particles on the floor. Which, by the way, there were lots of. He really needed to clean up his room.

"I wonder how this happened." He whispered to himself, his voice came out cracking.

After stretching, well somewhat stretching, his body ached to take a shower. He could clean up his room after the shower. His muscles were tense but his bones were strong. Stronger than they ever had been. His ears, for some reason, were very sensitive: picking up even the occasional creaking of Dudley's bed. But other than that, the house was very quiet. Harry looked at his clock to see it was 2:30 a.m. _No wonder it was quiet, everyone is still asleep._

He slowly made his way to the bathroom. He walked stiffly at first but his muscles started to adjust to his walking. One odd thing he noticed was that Dudley's clothes almost fit on him. He locked the door behind him. He gazed into the mirror and nearly fainted. After putting a hand over his mouth to keep from screaming, he looked wide-eyed at himself in the mirror.

The 'Harry' he saw in the mirror was at least 6.1.ft. His body looked like he was given the best nutrients in the world since the day he was born. His skin was tan,_ it will be more tanned after working outside_. He took his shirt off. The tan was every where _and_ his body was well-toned. _I never exercised a day in my life, unless you call running from Dudley and dodging deadly spells exercising!_ He knew that he was going to have to work hard to keep that body up. _I really should exercise more_. His gaze wandered upward.

His face had definitely changed. It had lost its boyish looks. He touched it tentatively. His face muscles were tight, given him an older look. His nose pretty much looked the same but his hair… Harry gasped at the sight. His once messy-haired look was replaced with straight, ruler length hair. And he had a lot of it! _Well, at least, I could comb it now._ _Maybe I should get streaks_... After a few more minutes of looking over his body he turned on the shower and stepped out of his clothes.

_Oh, this is definitely not my body_. Harry said gazing over the rest of his body. His legs had more meat on them and just like his arms, were toned. Plus add a few inches to other things on his body. After shaking his head of all the thoughts that were threatening to overcome his mind, he stepped into the shower. _I wonder if I aged myself._ He looked around inside the shower and slapped his hand to his forehead.

He forgot the soap, towel, and a pair of clothes._ Well, isn't that a surprise, I was to busy looking at myself_. He hesitantly waved his hand over the rack and felt the tingle again. Everything he needed was on the rack. From clothes to toothbrush and paste. He could tell he was going to have a good summer. But he felt unbelievably drained. He would have to give the magic a rest for a little while.

After his shower and 'thorough examination of his body', he made his way to his bedroom. He liked his new clothes they fitted him perfectly and were loose but not to loose. His room looked its gloomy self and was extremely dirty. The moon, that was now peaking over the roof tops, was casting shadows over Dudley's old toys given the old room a haunted look._ A makeover is what this room needs_. He gazed into a wall mirror and wiped a finger across it. His finger was entirely brown and gray; he could tell that even with the darkness in that area of the room.

So Harry decided to give the room a make over and a good cleaning. He closed his eyes and felt a warm sensation flowing through his body and out of his hands. He opened his eyes to see that he was glowing. And if that was not shocking enough, he was glowing red. His hands were glowing brighter than the rest of his body.

He banished all of Dudley's old things, including the bed, and stripped the walls till they were bare. He did a quick cleansing of the room. The room was now empty except his trunk and Hedwig's empty cage. He raised his glowing hands and let the warm sensation flow through him. He made the room bigger. He wanted the room painted in gold with red strips. _Gryffindor to the core_. Ceiling high book-selves filled with books on Defense Against the Dark Arts and other types of magic. Whatever he felt he needed.

He closed his eyes. He wanted a fireplace, decorated in red and golden bricks. A mahogany table decorated in gold and red linen. A velvet soft, plush couch sat in front of the fireplace, decorated in the same texture as the walls. Three chairs around the table in the same texture as the table. A closet filled to the brim with clothes and shoes that fit him perfectly, at least, loosely. A plush four-poster bed with drapes colored with red and gold. Very soft plush pillows and velvet sheets. A soft but firm mattress and comforter.

He wanted the hard floor to be carpeted in the same texture as the walls. When Harry opened his eyes a warm and friendly room greeted him. He looked around to find something missing. A bathroom, he needed a bathroom. He closed his eyes and told himself he needed a bathroom that could be called a replica of the prefects' bathroom at Hogwarts. He opened his eyes to see a mahogany door beside the library. Suddenly, he felt lightheaded and took a seat. He used too much power, he could tell. Yet, he still wanted to use it. His magic was as tired as he was. He nodded his head and fell asleep.

There was a knock at his door that woke him up. After the door opened there was a loud gasp. He turned to see his Aunt standing there looking around his room. She was closely followed by a ruffled Dudley and tired looking Uncle Vernon. They all stared either at him or the room.

"I see you like my room. It's good to know what a little magic would do." They all stared at him as though he died and were reborn right before their eyes. "Yes I can do magic outside of school now. If you would excuse me I will eat my breakfast." He said waving his hand at the table conjuring a heavy breakfast. The Dursleys looked wide-eyed at each other before leaving the room. Harry locked the door and went on eating. _That look of jealousy on Dudley's face was priceless and long over due_!

Harry came home at seven o'clock in the evening. He spent the day working in the neighborhood for the people that Aunt Petunia had enlisted to torture him. It was shockingly Dudley-free. That made the day even bearable.

He walked up the stairs to his bedroom. He was sore all over. As he neared the top, he laughed at what he saw.

Dudley and he friends were trying to break down his door with no prevail.

"I swear he has things in there that would make us filthy rich." Dudley said trying to use a crowbar on the door.

"Filthy is right. But you guys need to back away from my door there is no way you're going to get in my room. Heck, you could not even leave a dint!" Harry said calmly walking towards his door. They stepped back from it.

"I'm too tired to get into an argument with idiots, so, move out of my way." Harry said in a voice that sent shivers of coldness through their bodies. They all moved farther away from the door and Harry.

Harry walked up to the door and turned the knob.

"How come it did not work when we tried it?" The smallest one asked.

"Because it only opens up to my touch." He immediately realized his slipup. "Uh... it's a new thing called... Touch-Tone Security." At their surprised and believing faces, He murmured, "Idiots." He stepped into his bedroom. He slammed his door in their peeping faces.

It took a long bath to ease his aching muscles from exercising and working on peoples houses and yards around the neighborhood. He finished the day by reading a book. He opened up a large book called 1001 Defensive Spells by Marian Spellmen and started reading. After two hours of reading, he wished to be able to read quicker. Harry started reading again and the information rushed through his mind, fast. He dropped the book. He picked the book up again and started reading it.

He was reading pages upon pages of the book per second and still processing the information. He finished the book in a little under two minutes. He was able to pull up information faster than usual and process it. He could pull up a spell, incantation, and curse by just thinking of its' properties. His head was a little dizzy and was beginning to hurt, so he put the book away and went to sleep.

The next day he woke up, refreshed, and went over to his library. He looked around for a book on Wandless Magic. He found one and, after reading the first six lines, he nearly fainted.

"Wandless Magic has its perks," Harry read aloud to himself, "but practiced alone, the results could be disastrous. Wandless trainees usually train with elders who have experience in the art of Wandless Magic. The last person to control Wandless Magic was Albus Dumbledore. He trained with him an apprentice in wandless magic, but after the apprentice underwent evil transformation, thereby lossing his apprenticeship. The apprentice went further in the field of evil and the art of Wandless was supposedly lost to him."

Voldemort most-likely

Harry thought to himself, shocked. _No wonder he fears Dumbledore, he's already seen what power the man holds_. He continued to read aloud.

"Wandless Magic _can _be controlled by the average wizard but only to small amounts. Such as experimental magic and accidental magic: Experimental magic being the wanting of something to happen that the person's magic allows to happen. This usually occurs in wizards with exceptional magic control.

Accidental magic is a little more uncontrollable and unpredictable, even squibs and muggles experience it at points. It occurs when the person experiences strong emotion with a strong will for something physical to occur, but subconsciously some magic is usually being suppressed. Though accidental magic is unpredictable, experimental magic is the more dangerous of the two.

Experimental magic can overcome a wizard's magic and force it out of him or her leaving that wizard or witch as either a muggle or dead," Harry gasped as he read it, "it could also put them in a death-like sleep. Many wizards throughout the century have experienced experimental magic and very few of them have survived. One can't stop oneself once they have started using it. The magic finds easy ways of coming out. In the course of small, simple tasks it seeps out. This leads to mental and magical exhaustion until it causes weariness and sleepiness, then it carries on…" Harry stopped reading as dropped the book in his lap.

_That explains the falling asleep after every time I use magic_. He picked up the book and skimmed through it till found a new passage.

"Two of the known ways to keep the magic in check are: one to learn how to control it through trial and error or learn Wandless Magic authorized." Harry quickly put down the book and searched his shelves for another book on Wandless Magic. When he found it, he read it until he fell asleep.

And that became Harry's daily routine for the next three weeks. Read the book on Wandless Magic before heading out every morning. He would wear a tee shirt to work and come home with it off. He usually worked without the shirt on but not every time. But his time in the sun had kept his tan up. He was building muscles along with a reputation but he had no time for the girls, he had to learn of Wandless Magic.

Harry was starting to get use to his powers. Though he did not use them that much, only to practice spells. Harry read in a book that the Ministry kept close tabs of the wizards who live in muggle inhabited areas. So he read a book on the way to block his magic signature and found that it was Dark Magic. Harry argued with himself whether he should read the book. He decided that it was the way the person used the magic that decides if it is Light or Dark Magic.

He read the book and found out that he needed to erase his wand's signature. It was a short, but tricky and risky, ritual. Most of the directions were there, but the end of the ritual was giving to a very wise race of animals to keep the Wizarding World's secret. But all records say that the race died off. Luckily, there was one variant of that species left and Harry knew who had it and where to find him.

_**Flash Back**_

While pulling the weeds at the Samsons, Harry heard hissing in a nearby bush. He listened closer.

**Pathetic human. But there is something about it that is drawing me to it.**

I can hear you. Harry hissed back aloud enough for it to hear.

**You can understand my language**. The snake said coming out of the bushes and approaching Harry.

_Of course, I can speak to snakes_. Harry hissed edging towards the snake.

**No, I mean no human has ever been able to speak my language for over thousands of years**.

Well then, how am I able to speak it? Harry asked as the snake came forward.

**You are the human by whom the Elemental Snakes are bound to**. He said bowing his scaly head.

How do you know that? Harry asked looking around him for any other human that the snake could mean. _Or anyone controlling the snake._

**One, you are the only human that can speak our natural language. Elemental Snakes are bound to you, but since I'm the last Lightening, I'm bound to you**.

Come on wrap around my waist. If people see me talking to a snake they are going to call the loony bin.

**What's that**?

Don't worry about it just wrap around my waist.

The snake slithered up his out stretched hand found its resting-place on his stomach instead of his waist. Harry was happy he wore a shirt today. Harry had to resist the urge to start laughing because of the snakes scales tickled his skin non-stop. Working with the snake attached to his body was not as hard as he pictured it. The snake flexed his body to work with instead of against Harry's movements.

_**End Flash Back**_

He had let the snake lose in his bedroom. It even had its own spot next to his bed. He had learned ever thing he could about Seth by talking to him. They became friends easily. Harry was even taught elemental magic from Seth. Seth became his tutor in everything from Transfiguration to Potions. Seth told him that Elemental Snakes are born with the magic to teach even things they didn't know. Being that as it may, Seth was slightly disappointed in Harry's Owls when he received them.

OWL RESULTS for Harry James Potter 

_**Astronomy:**_

_Acceptable (Score was moved up a point for unstoppable distractions)_

_**Defense Against the Dark Arts:**_

Outstanding

_**Charms:**_

Outstanding 

_**Transfiguration:**_

Exceeds Expectantly 

_**Care of Magical Creatures:**_

Outstanding 

_**Herbology:**_

_Exceeds Expectantly_

_**Potions:**_

Outstanding 

_**History of Magic:**_

Poor

_**Division:**_

Poor 

**Congratulations 9 owls.**

_Outstanding-2 Owls_

_Outstanding-1 Owl_

_Exceeds Expectantly-1 Owl_

_Acceptable-1 Owl_

_Poor-1/2 Owl_

_Dreadful-O Owl_

Seth insisted that Harry would have received many more O.W.Ls if he had come earlier.

He received an owl from the Order. _No surprise there_, Harry thought. Harry had been sending a letter every three days like they asked, but his letters were short and straight to the point. Usually one sentence. Ron and Hermione received the same. Harry really just did not have anything to say to them. Harry did not need them as someone to confide in when he had Seth, nor could he tell them about all of the stuff that was happening to him.

And, he could take Seth anywhere with him and talk. As he naturally got tired of the reading, after he had 'read' every book in the library, he took Seth for walks in the park. The headaches Harry used to receive after 'reading' a book had stopped completely. Harry started wishing for more books. His Wandless Magic training had even progressed pass taming the experimental magic and moving on to conjuring many objects at once.

Harry sat on unbroken swing in the park one Saturday, reading the Potions book for this year. He knew he was going to have to wisen up this year or Snape was going to kick him out on the first day. He did not have to worry about muggles seeing the book. If one walked up to him right now and asked to see the book, they would think they were reading Romeo and Juliet.

Harry must have looked strange because on his lap laid an emerald green snake, with dark green stripes and eyes. In one hand held the book and the other was massaging the snake's back. Harry was actually _reading_ this book so he would not bring too much suspicion and attention to himself. The park was full today.

"Hi." A voice said causing him to look up from his book. A young pretty girl who looked to be his age sat down on the swing next to him. She tipped back and quickly fell off the swing.

"Tonks, how are you?" Harry said mechanically rubbing Seth, who looked to be enjoying it.

"Just peachy." She answered swiftly, obviously mad she had been found out so quickly. She dusted herself off and sat back down on the swing but more cautiously.

"What are you doing here?"

"Oh, just coming to see what the muggle girls over there were whispering about." She said nodding towards a group of chatting girls no less than a block away.

"Now they are really starting to get on my nerves. I can live with them watching me while I'm working outside and maybe when I go shopping but now it is getting irritating."

"Oh don't worry about them, they are only after the body." She said eying the snake in Harry's lap suspiciously. He saw her finger her wand.

Harry was fishing through his mind to find anything to keep Tonks from asking about himself or the snake. A light bulb went off in his mind. "Tonks I got an idea! Would you do me a favor?"

"Umm sure, what is it?" She asked looking around them, most likely for back-up.

"I got a way to get those girls off but it requires you kissing an extremely hot fifteen year-old." Harry said winking.

"I don't know." She said looking at Harry strangely. Harry made a sad puppy like face and blinked his eyelashes rapidly.

"All right just stop making that face." She stood up and stood in front of Harry. "Dumbledore is going to have my head on a stake. But it might be okay since I_ was_ sent here to help you and this is considered as helping you." She said bending down slowly. Harry felt himself swallow a large lump in his throat. _Why am I doing this again?_

Harry's lips met hers halfway. Harry brushed his against hers briefly before sucking and nibbling on her bottom lip. Harry crushed his lips onto hers urgently. He felt her seeking tongue trying to find access into his mouth. Seth slithered off of Harry's lap hissing with laughter. Harry slowly stood up and met her height. Their lips still connected all the while.

Harry opened his mouth and felt her tongue explore. His tongue searched her mouth and found many tastes. Her hands found themselves on his shoulders and his found their way around her waist. Harry felt the blood rushing from his head downwards. Harry stopped and pulled away looking in the direction of the chatting girls who all had fish expressions.

"That was amazing. Tonks look at them." Harry said pointing at the girls, and sitting down on the swing again. He realized Tonks was not moving. _I must be a very good kisser!_

"Wow." Was all she said before sitting down on the swing next to Harry.

They spent the rest of the day exaggerating flirting noticeably with each other trying to see how many times they could make the other blush. Tonks won by a landslide and started calling Harry her 'little tomato'. She told Harry she was to be his personal guard as she was the only one in the Order that can change her physical appearance. She was to be watching him closely. Harry snorted at this.

She walked Harry home. Seth was wrapped around him _and_ his book so the Tonks could not see the cover. Harry was fighting with himself over bringing Tonks into the house, his room especially. It was not a matter of trust, he just was not sure he could explain it to her.

"Tonks if I showed you something do you promise you would never tell anyone?" Tonks looked shocked by the outburst but, nevertheless, she nodded.

"Yes, but only because I want to know why you are walking with a snake around your waist. You do know that I will report to Dumbledore and I have to tell him_ everything_."

"I know but as long as he doesn't ask a direct question, you don't have to tell him a direct answer." Harry said mischievously. Tonks gave him an admiring look.

"You're right." She said in the same mischievous tone that Harry used. Harry smiled and opened the door for her.

Harry watched as Tonks changed her facial appearance back to normal. Harry guessed she did not change her body because she might overly stretch her clothes. She took out her wand and cast a tailoring charm on her clothes before changing her height. _Of course_, he thought, mentally smacking his forehead. Within seconds she was her old pink and purple self.

They walked pass the Dursleys, who were all watching television in the living room, without so much as a glance. That made Harry happy, all he needed was the Dursleys to think he was sneaking a girl into their house. _Even though I am._ Harry led her up the stairs as fast and as quiet as he could. When he made it to his bedroom and opened the door but held onto her, because she nearly fainted.

Her reaction to it was more than he expected.

"_When did you get all of this_?" She finally got out through gasps. Her eyes running over the length of the room in awe. "Better yet how did this happen? _This_ looks like a Space Expanding Spell, but it's a very complicated spell along with the fact that there hasn't been any abnormal magic readings in the area." She said letting go a train of thought. Harry finally pushed her into the room when he heard someone coming up the stairs.

"I will tell you," He said sitting on the bed, "when you sit down, calm down, and shut up." He spoke with a voice that she could not place, but nevertheless, she took a seat on his bed.

When she took the seat, Harry went into a detailed version of everything from the DoM to the ride home. He did not know why he told her but he did, and when he finished the part about Sirius it seemed as though a weight was lifted on his chest. Surprisingly, he even told her about the ending of the prophecy. She told him Dumbledore had told them all the importance of Harry and of the prophecy, he just did not tell them the prophecy.

When he was talking to her it felt almost like he was talking to Hermione, since Ron really was not the emotional type, that's who he usually comforted in. After she stopped yelling at him for destroying Dumbledore's office and he told her how he felt during the time, he told her of the summer. She was extremely shocked when he told he about his changes. She thought that there was a possibility that he was a metamorphmagus, he quickly dismissed it.

Tonks and Harry talked about what was happening in his life and Harry actually liked it.

They finally looked at the clock and jumped they had talked for a little more than an hour pass midnight. Harry bade Tonks a goodnight kiss on the cheek, not noticing the blush, and went to sleep. They met with each other every day after that and thus began their friendship.

* * *

Phew!

Revised: July 10th 2007


	2. The Trouble

**_ Friendship_**

**_The Trouble  
_**

_**Friendships are made at the strangest time and with the strangest people and things. Harry/Tonks. Harry finds out some things about himself, and Tonks learns more about Harry**_**_. Post OoTP  
_**

* * *

_Tonks POV_

The Order of Phoenix met with urgency, every day, in the second week of August. Harry had been announced missing for nearly two weeks now. The Order had been working overtime to find him. He left only one note before he left. Tonks knew what it said because she was given the note from Harry the day before he went missing. It stated how he would miss her and that he would be arriving at Number Twelve Grimmauld eight days from the date.

Dumbledore had requested many times to read the letter but Tonks turned it down, but he incessantly approached her to the point where she burned the letter out of frustration. Snape and Remus as well as the rest of the Order were continually on her case for destroying the letter. Mrs. Weasley was especially cold to Tonks now, to the point where the lady won't even look at her.

Tonks had known better than to infuriate them farther. So, she did what any smart person would do, she cowered. Only time anyone ever saw her was at the Order meetings. After which, she left immediately, which led suspicions of her knowing where Harry was and going to see him. Tonks had known of the suspicions and paid no more attention to them than needed. She had kept to herself, waiting for the day that Harry would return.

Now that that day was upon her and Tonks was overly excited about it, and showed it. As soon as she stepped into Number Twelve Grimmauld Place, she tripped over the rug. Although no one helped her up, Ginny Weasley threw her a sympathetic glance. She made it into the meeting room – also known as the kitchen – without anyone paying the slightest attention to her. They pretended she was not there and, for some reason, matched Harry's description of the Dursleys for this summer.

She did not care. Today was the day Harry was coming back and nothing was going to ruin it.

The meeting started. The usual things were reported and discussed. Whenever the mentioning of Harry would be brought up, many of the Order members would throw her glares. Finally, Dumbledore began his questioning for facts on Harry.

"How did the search today go?" Dumbledore asked whole-heartedly. Tonks perked up and squeaked, luckily, everyone else at the table sighed, drowning out her exclamation. Dumbledore seemed to age right before their eyes.

_Who would have guessed that the hundred years old man was so wrinkly!_ Tonks thought sarcastically before letting out a snort. Sadly to say no one sighed this time to drown out the outburst. Snape was going to say something harsh when Mrs. Weasley cut him off.

"I didn't think that there was something funny about Harry's disappearance? If you have found something comical about it, _please_ share!" The matron said turning red with anger. Her eyes dared Tonks to say something out of order so she could argue, Tonks accepted the dare.

"For your information _Mrs. WEASLEY_, anything I laugh about is none of your business." She said feeling her magic roaming her head, probably changing the color of it.

Dumbledore, sensing the argument coming on stepped in, but took Mrs. Weasley side whilst doing so. "Now now, _Nymphadora_," Tonks winced at the force he put in her name, "there is no need to get offensive, Molly was just asking a question. Everyone is tense these days." Tonks rolled her eyes and began staring at her hands. Remus, who was beyond mad at Tonks when he found out she was in commute with Harry and he was not, continued on with his report.

"Nothing out of the unusual." Came Remus' nonchalant response. His eyes still forming holes in Tonks head.

"What of Voldemort?" Dumbledore asked this time to Snape.

"Same as usual."

"Then Harry Potter has truly left the wizarding world." Dumbledore said rubbing his temples with his fingers.

"No." Tonks said now with everyone's eyes upon her. "He has not left Dumbledore. From his letter he should be returning to us by the end of the day." She said looking at the suddenly interesting table.

"Why did you not tell us this before?" Remus' mad reply came; she took no notice of his tone.

"Wait a moment," Snape suddenly said, "You and Potter are friends. I remember my shift being over and yours starting. You didn't mask yourself at all you just walked up to the house, knocked, and Potter came and let you in." Snape paused to look at Tonks. For the moment being, she remained emotionless. He knew something was up from the look in his eyes.

"Tonks is that true?" Dumbledore asked. Tonks gave a nod and went back to being emotionless. Dumbledore gave a sigh of relief.

"Then you knew what he was going to do and where he was going to go beforehand?" Dumbledore said with urgency in his voice. "And you can tell us where to find him?"

"No. I did not, nor do I now, know what he was doing until he gave me the note," Her voice unexpectantly turned to anger, "but we are friends, as Snape said, and he has filled me in on the _whole _story of what happened at the DoM and after." Dumbledore's face flashed with fear, scaring those in the room.

"H-he told you of what happened to Bellatrix Lestrage also." Dumbledore said a little shakily to the surprise of the Order. Tonks nodded.

"What happened?" Mrs. Weasley asked looking from Dumbledore to Tonks.

"It's confidential." Came Dumbledore's quick answer.

"That's what's wrong with you Dumbledore, you keep too many secrets." Tonks said with a steely tone.

"What happened?" Remus asked getting nervous.

"Harry went after Lestrange and when he found her he put her under the Crucio Curse." Tonks said sadly. Gasps went up in the room.

"H-how?" Was all Snape could say.

"It was his first try and he said it didn't work as he expected but it knocked that baby voice out of her." Snape snorted as Tonks finished.

"Does this mean Harry has gone dark?" McGonagall asked.

"Oh no. It just means Harry is changing. He is keeping very big secrets from you that I do not dare to speak in public. But he is not going dark, just secretive and more non-Harry like." Tonks said with her voice strong as it has ever been.

"Nymphadora," Dumbledore said adopting a strict tone now, "we need to know if something is wrong with Harry so that we-."

"Can control his life and force him to further himself farther from us, maybe to the point where he loses his trust in all of us like he has done you." Tonks finished for him with a voice that had everyone looking at her wide-eyed. Dumbledore looked grave once more, but he placed his head in his hands and spoke.

"Has it really gone that far."

"To the point where he was debating on moving to America and going to school there." Tonks said, there were sharp intakes of breath.

"He's thinking about not going to Hogwarts!" McGonagall said. "Outrageous!"

"Yes, I changed his mind a little by telling him that Dumbledore might not be able to keep the contents of the prophecy secret for much longer, and that the school might be in danger."

"And that's why I came back." A voice from the dark corner of the room said stepping forward. The Order had their wands trained on him in a split.

"Well _hello_ to you all too." He said taking an open seat next to Tonks.

"Where the hell have you been?" Remus said charging out of his seat and towards Harry. Harry did not acknowledge his presence and had his eyes trained fiercely on Dumbledore.

"Harry, good to see that your back. May I speak with you in private?" Harry's eyes flashed in cold fury, stopping Dumbledore. It took Tonks' warning him to keep him from lashing out.

"Harry if you so far as to touch anyone in this room, I will put my foot so far up you ass, you would be able to smell it." Tonks was awarded shocked looks from everyone including Dumbledore. Harry gave a sigh and spoke.

"Dumbledore, whatever you have to say to me, you may say it in front of your _Order_." Harry said with such dislike in his voice that Dumbledore flinched.

"Where have you been and why did you leave?" Dumbledore asked giving a look to Snape.

Before Harry could speak, both Dumbledore and Snape cast legismency on him. The spells hit Harry but it looked as though they had no effect on him. Snape and Dumbledore had faces of pure concentration on them. Harry just smiled wickedly before he closed his eyes. Pain flashed across Dumbledore and Snape's faces. They both opened their mouths in a silent scream. There was an eruption of white light and both of them were flung from their seats and hit the wall.

They slowly picked themselves up to meet a very angry Harry. Magic cracked all around him and Tonks was moving away from him putting up every protection charm she knew. She knew when Harry was mad he could not control himself.

"How dare you?" Harry spoke getting up from the table. "How dare you try to invade my thoughts Dumbledore '_and Snape_, Tonks mentally added on'. You should have known better." Harry walked to the door as it was reduced to ash suddenly and walked up the stairs.

Tonks was shaking with fury and laughter. In the rumble of the door sat Ron, Hermione, and the twins. They all were trying to piece together what happened.

"I better go talk to him before he does something he will regret later." Tonks said leaving the room when Ron and Hermione stopped her.

"We will go, he'll listen to us."

"Unless you two have gone blind and deaf at the same time you could tell that if you were to mess with him you might suffer what Lestrange suffered." She said getting angry. Or worst, she remorsefully added on.

Before they could respond to her statements, Harry walked down the stairs.

"Tonks I going, I'll see you before I leave for the Grand Canyon Academy in America."

"Go upstairs and sit your ass down before I do it for you." She said in a commanding voice that made Ron snort. But, to everyone's surprise, Harry rolled his eyes and walked back up the stairs murmuring.

"You were saying Hermione." She said walking up the stairs.

When she reached the door she noticed that the crowd had followed her but she kept herself on task. She turned the knob. Nothing happened.

_Oh no not one of those touch-tone thingys_. Harry had filled her in on the things and she abhorred them.

She took out her wand and tapped the door.

"This is Tonks..." She did not get a chance to finish her sentence for the door in question faded away into nothing.

Tonks put away her wand and walked in. No one saw her or Harry for the rest of the day.

Tonks came to breakfast the next morning. She walked with a limp but kept refusing to say what happened. Mrs. Weasley kept casting her mysterious looks.

"So Tonks, how did it go with Harry?" Mrs. Weasley said with a dead tone. She had a knowing look in her eyes that Tonks immediately did not like. _It was almost like she knows something_.

_NO, she could not know._

"Tonks, are you okay?" Mrs. Weasley said breaking through her train of thought.

Before she said anything, Harry came into the kitchen. He took the seat next to her. She noticed everyone throw Harry curious looks. She looked at all of the other empty seat choices and found Harry could have sat next to nearly everyone. Harry must have noticed also because he ate a very small breakfast and excused himself from the table.

"Harry where are you going, you can't possibly be full?" Mrs. Weasley said.

"No thank you. I eat once before I exercise so that I don't get cramps. Besides," Harry said lifting his shirt up, "Seth doesn't like it when I eat and he doesn't." He said pointing to the snake that was curled around his stomach. Mrs. Weasley gasped along with half of the table.

Seth curled himself around Harry's body till his head was resting on Harry's shoulder. Tonks caught Ginny stealing looks at his body and running her eyes over it. _This is too much_. Harry seeing the seething look on Tonks face immediately pulled his shirt down and left. Tonks found herself finishing her plate and leaving the table before Mrs. Weasley called Dumbledore over.

When she got out in the hall, a hand on her shoulder stopped her in her tracks. She turned to face an angry Hermione.

"Tonks I know what's going on between you and Harry. So I won't exaggerate, why Harry? Why not someone older, or maybe, I don't know, someone your own age?"

"Hermione. I'm surprised at you." Came Harry's voice from the staircase. Hermione paled but kept her gaze on Tonks.

"Surprised at me, I'm surprised at you, I would have thought you would have taken all of the hints of the Weasley family and gone for Ginny. But no, the _big Harry Potter_ had to go for a woman nearly ten years older than him." Tonks wanted to say something about her only being seven years his elder, but could not. Harry fixed Hermione a look that dropped the temperature a few degrees. The small crowd that seemed to have formed at the opposite end of the hall held their breath.

A cold, dark laughter began to fill the hall. Most looked to Tonks to see her with her wand in her hand and edging herself toward the sitting room. Some of the more cautious ones followed her example. Harry's laughter stopped as he walked gracefully down the hall. He drew himself up to full height and approached Hermione. Ron was swiftly at her side but Harry did not seem to have noticed.

"Why would I have gone for Ginny? I think you have been around Ron too long. Besides, am I that transparent, whereas, you know what type of girls I like and I don't? No offense, Ginny," He said in a voice thin as air but as cold as ice, "but I am not the emotional type and I don't like the emotional types of girls, i.e. Cho Chang." Hermione paled and shivered under his direct gaze. Ron looked ready to kill, whilst Tonks was once again simultaneously putting up every shielding charm she knew.

"You dated Cho, though, and she was-."

"She was my link to Cedric as I was hers. We had nothing in common only death and that doesn't help a relationship. Besides, she was grief stricken and I was just a weakling, but we put that behind us and promised to move forward with our lives." Harry said completing Ron's sentence. The house gave a little launch and the crowd started to get scared. A few of the stuffed elf heads in the hall fell.

"Hermione, I don't know who gave you or anyone else in this house who think they know me, to decide what I do or who I like, but you don't know me at all. If it wasn't for Tonks, you would never see me again and if she ever gave me permission to leave, I would be gone be for you knew what happened." He narrowed his eyes.

"B-but I was only suggesting what I thought was…"

"Exactly," Harry said magic flowing from him at an over-bearing rate, "what you _thought_ was best." Harry's eyes flashed a bright red and stayed that color. "Hermione, what you think is best for me and what is best for me are two very different things." Tonks could not take the hiding anymore and marched straight up to the fear-inspiring Harry.

"Calm down _NOW_." She said in a commanding voice. Harry's eyes returned back to normal, he bowed his head in shame.

To the surprise of the spectators, the painting of Mrs. Black began shouting out encouragement to Harry. Harry winked at her as she blushed and turned back to Tonks. He spoke apologetically to her.

"I'm sorry for losing my temper." He leaned over and kissed her on the mouth, then he turned and walked up the stairs with Tonks still standing there watching him retreat. She turned to face Hermione, her chest was heaving with anger.

"YOU, had to say those stupid things to him. I worked so hard to get him to go back to Hogwarts. Now, no matter what he said, I fear he might go to America or worst somewhere I would not be able to find him." She paused to gather her strength to continue. "But NO-no-no-no you weren't thinking along those lines. YOU were TRYING to CONTROL HIS _LIFE_." She stopped when the glasses in the kitchen blew apart.

"Harry left for this very reason," She stopped with tear glistening in her eyes, "and if he leaves again I might not see him again." She spoke in a quiet and sad tone that broke everyone's hearts. Tonks turned and walked up the stairs to her room and shut the door.

Hermione shook with sadness and grief and when Ron tried to comfort her she brushed him off and quickly bolted up the stairs. Everyone watched her go off, but their minds where with their hearts and their hearts were with Tonks and Harry. Ginny walked up the stairs with the twins, who had lost their usual charm, and walked, forlorn, up the stairs to their rooms. Ron along with the rest of the adults returned to the kitchen.

Dumbledore returned that night and was shocked at the emotions and gloominess of the house. Mrs. Weasley tried to tell him the story whilst holding her teacup with a shaky hand, but was raked with sobs. Dumbledore caught what he could through the tears and gasps. He was surprised to get his vital information from Mrs. Black, who looked beyond happy to tell all. But he knew there was nothing he could do or say that would not make the situation worst. He kept his tongue firmly behind his teeth and decided to watch everyone from a distance when they went to Diagon Alley.

The house woke to the smell of breakfast and made their way to the kitchen. When they got to the kitchen they received a shock. Harry, Remus, and Tonks were talking and laughing together while cooking. Mrs. Weasley never knew the three could cook and she gruffly agreed that the food was good "but nothing more".

"So what's our plans for the day?" Remus asked a little cheerfully.

"I have to go to Knockturn Alley and buy a Parseltongue book." Harry added with calmness. The table went silent and choking occurred everywhere.

"What?" Remus asked as though he had gone momentarily deaf. "You can't go to Knockturn Alley it's too dangerous." Remus said.

"I have to go I can't let Voldemort get his hands on one more Parseltongue book. I might have had two of the five made but he has the greater ones." Harry added in a calm voice.

"What do you do with the books?" Hermione asked with a worried tone.

"I read them then destroy them. They are very dark books. I've hunted through the Dark Market for them. I found out that Voldemort is seeking all of them to add to his collection." He said with a laugh in his calm tone.

"How can you laugh about something like that you could have…" She stopped at the look on Harry's face.

"…Let Dumbledore _try_ to handle; gotten killed over, which one do you want to use?" Harry said in a dead voice the caused Tonks to flinch. He began counting off his fingers.

"Let's see, if I let Dumbledore _try_ to handle it, and he messed up, you can just bye-bye to his _weak_ Order." Those in the Order winced, as though they were in great pain at Harry's words to describe the Order, Tonks included. Tonks could tell Harry was getting angrier by the second and she prayed no one was dumb enough to say anything offensive.

"HOW DARE YOU SAY THE ABOUT THE ORDER. They are doing all they can to protect your sorry, ungrateful arse." Ron said causing Tonks to moan out of frustration. She began inching to her wand when something stopped her.

Harry had begun laughing. Ron blushed red out of embarrassment and anger. Harry stopped laughing and looked at Ron as though this was his first glance at him.

"Ron, sucking up to the members of the Order is not going to help you gain entrance into the Order." Harry said with tears coming of his eyes and he began quivering with laughter. Tonks did not think Harry had ever laughed so hard in his life. "Besides," he continued, "if the Order was a trying to protect me I would not have been able to leave." He turned his attention back to Hermione.

"Anyway, did you really think I was going to let Voldemort achieve his goals and receive the books that hold Dark Magic that hasn't been seen since Merlin's time? Oh no, I would rather take my chances with death." Once again Tonks flinched. Harry put his hand on the table and stared at the pale Hermione. "But he can't read them anyway." Harry laughed.

"But you said You-Know-Wh…"

"I swear if I hear one person at this table say: He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named or You-Know-Who, one more time, **one more time**, I will rip out their bloodytongue." Harry said viciously to Mr. Weasley. "I, luckily, know a person among the Death Eater ranks whose in charge of Voldemort's secret library, who puts a spell on the books so that Voldemort can't understand them."

"Who is it?" Hermione said suddenly very interested in the conversation.

"Like I'm going to tell you?" Harry said with a laugh.

"But Harry, you should tell Dumbledore. He needs another spy in Voldemort's ranks." Harry's laughter reached its peak where he, once again, was starting to cry out of mirth.

"Oh no. Dumbledore isn't going to get my spy caught. He needs to stay where he is instead of going around snooping for information that is going to get him killed." He calmed himself again played with the food on his plate. "Besides, Voldemort doesn't trust Snape anymore than he trusts me. No one, but Snape, goes through his ranks snooping for information; Voldemort is not dumb you know. Any Death-Eater that gives Snape more information than is told to is put to death under a Parseltongue torture curse, and those are not something you ever want placed on you." Harry still spoke in a calm tone.

The Order members were shocked. They looked at each other for someone to speak first. Remus, using courage beyond courage, spoke.

"Why does Voldemort keep Snape around if he knows that he is a spy for Dumbledore?" Harry wanted to laugh at the question but he keep his vindictive tone.

"It amuses him." He said shortly. "He'll have his _fun_ with Snape later on." Tonks shook her head to clear it. She was definitely going to have a discussion with Harry later on.

Seth came slithering through the door at the worst moment, with a lump, which everyone disgustedly noticed, showed every feature of the dead rabbit's face and body. Harry pushed back his chair and let Seth curl up in his lap. Tonks made a face at the snake, which rolled its eyes and laid to sleep in Harry's lap.

"Why does he always digest his food when I'm around." Tonks said with a sigh and pushing her plate away.

"He knows it annoys you." Harry laughed.

"Figures." Tonks said laying her head on Harry's shoulder. "At least he doesn't regurgitate in front of me."

"You're the lucky one." Harry said shortly.

The tension in the room increased tenfold; _you could almost cut it with a knife_. Harry and Tonks could feel it suffocating them. They wordlessly agreed to leave for Diagon Alley earlier than every else. They excused themselves from the table and levitated Seth to Harry's bedroom. Harry wrote a quick note in Parseltongue and left it in the sleeping snake's tank. They tiptoed out of Harry's room and made their way to Tonks' room.

Mrs. Weasley's voice at the bottom of the stairs made them quicken their pace of putting on their clothes. They rushed down the stairs using magic to finish fixing themselves up. Moody along with the others was waiting for them.

"Took you long enough." Moody said with a harsh laugh. "By the sounds coming from Tonks' room and the fact that you two are wearing each others wand holsters, I'd say you were doing more than braiding each others hair." Harry and Tonks blushed at the comment.

"See, I told you our rooms need to be silenced." Tonks laughed taking off the wand holster on her leg. Harry rolled his eyes and took off the wand holster on his arm. They quickly switched and began strapping them back on. They, after wondering why Moody was still laughing at them, quickly traded wands.

"Well, picture it this way, everyone will know when and when not to open our doors, or the bathroom door." Harry said with a smirk. "Or in the basement, the attic, the closet, the…" He stopped at the looks on everyone's faces. "Hey, why not have fun while we're young." Harry said causing Tonks to laugh so hard that she nearly fell off the stairs.

After she calmed down everyone made for the floo. She and Harry had to pick out her _costume_ for her next _assignment_. Dumbledore asked for an Auror to accompany Harry everywhere, but would not be easily noticed as an Auror. Dumbledore, under strict orders from Harry and Tonks, played his part perfectly. Fudge, being scared of losing the up-coming election by not supporting Dumbledore in protecting Harry, whole-heartedly agreed to let Tonks go, since she was the only metamorphmagus Auror.

They split up from the rest of the group and went to Madam Malkin's and picked out her new figure. She had to look like a sixth year to pass as one. They picked out an almost petite figure went long blond hair and thick long eye lashes covering beautiful blue eyes. And curves to die for, though Harry liked her the way she was before. She was a little more than ample, but it fit her. She even surprised Harry by changing her breast size from a 'A cup' to a 'B cup'.

After they were measured, they left the store to go shopping some more. They had their fun enjoying every shop they could find. After they returned to Madam Malkin's and picked up their clothes, they left Diagon Alley to go to the Muggle world. Harry bought Tonks some clothes while Tonks picked them out.

_Harry's POV_

It was some time passed five when Harry left Tonks in the Leaky Cauldron with the others. He did a quick spell to change his appearance. He walked the through the entrance to Knockturn Alley. Before he was even halfway down the stairs, something moving at breakneck speed ran into him. Harry's breath was taken away. Harry fell struggling to get from under the sprawling figure, and rolled down the stairs with the figure.

"Sorry. Must have…" The figure studied Harry closer. "Oh Harry it's you." Harry realized immediately who the person was.

"Draco, what are you doing around here?" Harry freed himself of the sprawling Malfoy. "Aren't you supposed to be at a D.E meeting?" Draco looked suddenly nervous. He rubbed the mark on his arm vigorously, as if trying to rub it off. Harry noticed the faint smell of burning flesh.

"Yes, I'm supposed to be at a meeting, but…" And he began to ramble on rapidly. Harry shook him roughly by the shoulders – almost lifting him off the ground he sat on – until he calmed down, somewhat.

"What is wrong?" Harry asked slowly. Then Draco spoke the phrase that Harry had dreaded since he began his 'friendship' with Tonks.

"V-v-voldemort…captured…Tonks…" And he began rambling again but Harry did not care.

Harry had paled to that the description of a ghost. Every since the day he had first begun being intimate with Tonks, he had prayed that this day would never come. Tonks was the only person Harry had ever had real feelings for. She was the only person who would listen to Harry when he talked. The only person who could calm him down was Tonks. And now she, like Sirius, was gone. Taken by Voldemort.

_Voldemort_

Voldemort's very name sent Harry into a fit of anger. That beast had caused enough trouble in Harry's life as it is. Now he has taken away the last thing Harry cared about. Harry felt a tingle. A tingle, that turned into a burn. That same tingle/burn he had felt at the Dursleys. But this time the burn did not hurt Harry. It was like he was immune to it. No, this was the equipment he had asked for at the Dursleys. The power he would need to defeat Voldemort. He had already received the knowledge and strength.

The burn – more like warm sensation – overtook Harry's senses. He was suddenly at peace. But in the peace was missing something. There was a piece of peace missing from Harry that kept him from totally in serenity. Tonks, Harry knew immediately was the piece now all he had to do was find it. And find it, hopefully, undamaged.

Harry's 'calmness' pulled him from his very body and into a swirling array of colors. Once the swirling mass of colors calmed down, Harry found himself in a pitch-black corridor. He heard nothing but the very breaths coming from his mouth. He felt whole in mind and spirit, but his body was not there. Harry knew where he was immediately. It was the place he formed his Occulmency walls and wandless power. He was in his calm inner being.

It was a place created of pure calmness. Harry was surprised the first time he tried to find this place. He found that instead of a black mist, like most people had, he had an already a built calmness corridor. The book said nothing of inherited calmness; calmness had to be learned. It took a lot of soul searching to find out how he got this far without knowing so. His was established and progressed by his need of staying calm around the Dursleys. Their harsh chastising of him and abnormal treatment of Harry contributed greatly as well.

The corridor lit up. Harry stared at the figure approaching him. The figure that looked so much like him. The figure was he. In a different essence though, an evil essence. The figure looked at Harry so thoroughly that Harry almost thought he was completely transparent. The other 'Harry' smiled as he approached.

"You called." Harry said in a calm voice that did not suit him.

He looked Harry up and down and spoke in a gruff but cold voice.

"I want to take over up there." He said pointing to the non-existing ceiling. Harry gave him a smile that he did not return.

"I promise you that you will take over today, we just have to wait for the right time." He gave a brief nod and the swirling mass surrounded Harry once more. Harry found himself staring at Draco's face. He found himself standing up right. Harry grabbed Draco's arms and shook him.

"Take me to the bastard." Harry snarled. Draco nodded his head vigorously. A little too vigorous for Harry's liking. He grabbed Harry's hand and… _Wait a moment, when has Draco ever touched my hand!_

Harry looked down at the hand that was gripping his much more firmly than it should. _When has Malfoy received a grip like this?_ He certainly did not have it a week ago. Harry gazed intently down as the grasp and gasped inwardly. _Where was Draco's ring?_ The ring that Harry gave him in case he ever got in trouble; the ring that was a very replica of the one on Harry's hand, this 'Draco' didn't have it on him.

Harry began to panic. _If this isn't Draco, who was it?_ The first thought that popped into his mind was Death Eater. The person was very giddy when Harry asked to be taken to Voldemort, at least before he began rambling… _Rambling_. Harry should have noticed before._ When did Draco ever ramble? Boy oh boy, am I dumb_.

Thinking quickly, Harry yanked free of 'Draco's' grasp. Harry knew he still had to get to Voldemort and the Death Eater – he had to be a Death Eater judging by the smell of burning flesh that Harry smelt – was his ticket to him. The Death Eater looked as though he was going to take Harry by force; he stopped himself and took a befuddled look of innocence. Harry thought quickly and a plan unmasked itself right before his eyes.

"How are we getting there?" Harry asked being at his utmost calm. His hand was placed out before him. The Death Eater paid no mind to the hand, not knowing how dangerous it was.

"I was going to use this," he said reaching into his pocket and pulling out a red globe. It was pulsing with dark magic. Harry knew what it was immediately. He hoped the Death Eater did not know the knowing look on his face.

It was a Free-Will orb. A very dark artifact that took a person where ever it is set to as long as they were willing. It was a very undetectable way of transportation. So undetectable that it could creep by wards without them even being aware. It was banned by the International Confederation of Wizards for that reason. But the only good thing about it was the person who sets the orb had to be in the place they set it to.

_Why would Voldemort be so secure about this?_

_Why would he not want Harry to be taking against his will?_

There had to be a good, but evil, reason on Voldemort's part. But he could not worry about it now; he had plans to unwrap.

The Death Eater was becoming impatient, but Harry needed him to wait a little bit longer. A zooming object was flying towards Harry and the Death Eater. And with a **_WHAM_** it struck.

* * *

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_I love cliffhangers. So what is the plan Harry is coming up with? Will it work? Will Harry be able to get to Tonks in time? How did Tonks get captured? Who did the Death Eater notice Harry if Harry had his appearance changed? And why did Harry seem not to care? Where are Dumbledore and his Order? Who is the Death Eater? What is Voldemort's reason for Harry to come voluntarily? What was the flying object? What or who did it hit? Tune in for the next chapter of Friendship THE MEETING._


	3. The Meeting Part 1

**_Friendship_**

**_The Meeting (Part 1)  
_**

_**Friendships are made at the strangest time and with the strangest people and things. Harry/Tonks. Harry finds out some things about himself, and Tonks learns more about Harry**_**_. Post OoTP_**

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**__**

_The Death Eater was becoming impatient, but Harry needed him to wait a little bit longer. A zooming object was flying towards Harry and the Death Eater. And with a **WHAM** it struck._

Harry stepped out of the way as the rapidly approaching, what he discovered was a box rammed into the back of the Death Eater's head. The eyes of the Death Eater rolled back into his or her head as they sunk to the ground. The box froze in midair and then flew into Harry's still out-stretched hand with ease. Harry clutched the box and quickly levitated the knocked-out Death Eater to the nearest dark alley.

After checking to see if anyone could see him, it was still daylight whether or not one could tell in Knockturn Alley, Harry pulled off his own clothes. When he was left undressed he closed his eyes and went into a meditated trance in the filthy alley.

This was not his average meditation. He was not closing his mind off from the world, a mental invasion from Voldemort, or was he focusing on anything external. What he was focusing on needed neither calmness nor anything around him.

He was concentrating on 'calling'. It was a usual daily act of bring his inner-being to the outside world, and more usually, it was an act of going into his inner chamber/corridor and sorting out a problem. Something he had not done since he had begun training himself in the art of Wandless Magic. Sometimes it was a simple yet, unendurable, procedure of finding his inner-being and calming it, instead of bringing himself into the corridor. Though, because of some deep internal conflicts between him and his inner-self, after he had reached an average level of safe and accurate knowledge of Wandless Magic, he stopped doing it regularly.

He was calling his inner-self once more. Though, the first time his inner-being had 'called' him. It was not a complicated thing to do since he just got from communicating with his inner-being. After much seeking he found it. Instead of focusing on calming it, as he usually did, he trapped it.

There was very a good reason for doing so. In order to release the essence from his body, as that was his initial plan, it had to be trapped, isolated from the rest of the mind, and then he must take an Exorcist potion. Harry could not carry out his plan without that potion. He quickly snapped out of the Meditation State, opened the box that was clutched in his hand and pulled a red-colored potion. Without wasting, Harry immediately swallowed the potion. After wincing from the taste of it, Harry cast a silencing charm on the alley and two more on himself.

He did that not a moment too soon. For as soon as the last silencing spell was in place, Harry felt a jolt from his mind. He cast one Notice-Me-Not enchantment on the alley. He felt another jolt. This one was fiercer than the last. A small headache was developing. Harry began moaning. Harry wished he had brought a Headache-Relieving potion. The headache increased but Harry knew he must hold on till the third pull or the consequences could be dire.

A shift in the wind caused Harry to shudder for a moment. An Exothermal Potion for his naked body could have been helpful. After getting those negative thoughts out of his head he concentrated once more. He saw black so thick you could cut it. Then they came. Memories, Ideas, all evil, came back to him. They weren't his though. They were Voldemort's. He saw Voldemort's childhood, if you could call it that. To Harry, it seemed that the memories were of some sort of horror film. Harry saw the frightened boy growing up in a foster house where he was treated like dirt. He saw a shadowy figure but ignored it. The way in which those at the foster house treated the young Riddle bordered, and even surpassed, the way the Dursleys treated Harry.

To say that Harry felt nothing but sympathy for the young boy was an understatement. He felt like crying for Voldemort. No, he wasn't Voldemort yet. Tom. Harry felt sorry for Tom. He felt something trying to free itself from his mental grasp. He quickly reinforced his wards around the essence, his headache increased from the mental activity. The seeping stopped so Harry went on with viewing Voldemort's childhood.

Harry saw Tom receive beatings for being abnormal. He grew his hair once; he changed one of his eyes' colors in front of the dean of his foster home. He was beat by both the school administration and the muggle kids. Harry winced as felt Tom's anger. It seemed insurmountable. _So this is what formed his hatred for muggles_, Harry thought to himself.

As if to confirm this, a scene flew through his mind of several older boys holding a girl down and raping her. Harry saw that Tom was made to watch this, yet, he did not join in with the cheering others. He was being held and forced to watched this. Harry saw how he struggled against the boys with a tear running down his face. Harry watched with disgust at how the administration of the foster home passed the scene without sparing a glance at the begging and screaming girl. After what seemed like hours, the boys finished their business and left the girl there to cry on the ground with Tom.

Harry felt something special about this girl. When he looked into the scene farther, he saw her reddening, rosy eyes. In all ways, she seemed to be a feminine version of Tom; she was small, same age and height. Like a twin sister. This shocked Harry._ Voldemort had a sister! I wonder what happened to her_.

Once more, as if to give Harry information, the scene changed. Harry saw the girl being taking away from a crying Tom and being pushed into a shining black car. Without warning, the scene changed once more. The next scene was much different that the first. Harry saw Tom in a hospital room. He must have been either fifteen or sixteen. Harry could see distinctive resemblance between this Tom Riddle and the one in the Chamber of Secrets. There was a girl on the bed. She seemed to be pregnant and in labor. Without having to look closer at the girl Harry knew who she was. _The sister._

The scene swirled and Harry saw Tom sitting in a room at the hospital. A doctor came in frowning. He looked down upon Tom as though Tom had done something wrong. The doctor spoke but Harry could not hear what was being said.

_Can I hear what was being said_, Harry asked hesitantly. The memories obliged.

"Mr. Riddle, I have some rather sad news for you." The doctor said in a very snappish voice.

"What is it? Is something wrong with my sister?" Tom answered. Harry could see the innocence and fear in his eyes.

"Yes, there was a malfunction in the birth canal causing…"

"Is Sara, my sister, okay?" Tom said interrupting the doctor. The doctor hissed.

"Your sister did not make it." The doctor turned but was dead before he got to the door. Tom's wand was in his hand. The green light's glow lingered in the room. Harry felt Tom's emotions in a great extent. There was sadness beyond belief, then there was anger. The magnitude of the anger was unimaginable. Harry felt a scene change and almost cried at the similarities between himself and Riddle. He too had used an Unforgivable when a loved one had been killed.

Harry found himself looking on at the dinner table of an apparently wealthy family. A door to the left of Harry flew open. In stormed Tom. His wand was out, his red eyes blazing like red rubies on fire.

"_YOU_." He said to the boy at the table who could not have been more than two years older than he was. Sparks flew from his outstretched wand.

"Who are you and how did you get in… How could this be?" A man who looked amazingly like Tom said standing up. He was looking at Tom and subconsciously ignoring the wand pointed at his son.

"Yes, I'm Tom Marvolo Riddle, your son. But that is not why I'm here." He turned his wand back onto the boy. "My sister is dead because of you." The mother opened her mouth, only to find she could not speak nor move. "Don't mess with a wizard." Tom said after hissing a curse at her. Harry heard and understood the spell as a Parseltongue Freezing Curse.

"There must be some misunderstanding." The older Tom said. His eyes announcing his fear while his voice hid it. His wife looked at him in a weird way. Harry recognized it as suspicious and calculating.

"Oh no, there was no misunderstanding. It's no secret what he did to my sister a few months ago." Harry heard a hissing noise and realized it was coming from Tom. With a flash of green light the three Riddles were dead. Harry felt something seeping from his mind at the moment; he had his shields up in a flash. Again triggering that obnoxious headache and causing him to scream a silent scream.

Harry knew what was going on. He knew he must hold on till the third jolt. It was part of the Exorcist Ritual. Harry opened his eye to see a carbon image of himself standing nose to nose with him.

The wind began to pick up around Harry. The box, along with the rest of his items, was thrown into the wall and around the alley. More evil memories came flooding back. Some of recruiting Death Eaters, most of torturing, even more of death. They were pulling from him. Yet, Harry continued to hold on to the essence in which they came with.

Finally, after what seemed Harry felt the ritual finalizing, he felt the tug on his brain much more forceful. Tears filled his eyes. He screamed once more an unheard scream. The headache had already turned into a migraine. Harry released the essence and felt his Occulmency walls collapse. A pair of arms steadied him as he wobbled under the exertion of the ritual.

"'Always wondered what it was like up 'ere." The other Harry said with smile. Harry weakly smiled back and stumbled over to the box to pick out some clothes for himself and the other Harry to wear. He found the box empty of clothes and began searching the ally for them. The other automatically knew what Harry was doing and quickly helped out. The clothes were thrown around the ally they were in.

"What was I thinking when I put those clothes in that box?" Harry said picking up the clothes. The other Harry sat back against the wall staring at his new body in a magic-made mirror.

"You should have worked out more." The other Harry said poking his stomach. Harry stopped what he was going to look at the other Harry with indignity.

"I did the best I could while you were in there sitting on your…" The other Harry laughed a cold laugh. He raised a hand to stop Harry and spoke.

"You're such a Gryffindor." He said laughing.

"I know I am and you're a stupid Slytherin." He said angrily. He threw some clothes at the laughing Harry.

The 'whole' Harry knew that there was such a thing as split personalities. He knew so before the wizarding world was ever introduced to him. His Aunt was a split personality all in all. Her attitude around the neighbors was completely different than that of hers around the house or especially her attitude to Harry. And when Harry found the being in his inner-chamber, that concluded the idea for him. Plus he realized that the two side conversations he had with himself were because of his two personalities.

That knowledge and the knowledge he found in a Dark Arts book was supposed to be used in case Harry ever had to meet Voldemort face-to-face. The ritual (named Extromnea Extracta made in the 1st Century B.C) was used to dispel people's souls from their body and was to be used on Voldemort. But Harry found it more than useful in this situation. If he were going to help Tonks he would need as much help as possible. And who better to help him than himself. Someone who knew how he thought; but had a different, a more darker, way of thinking. It was the smartest thing Harry had ever thought of.

A long time ago Harry discussed with Seth the thought of disuniting from his other self. Seth agreed with Harry's plan. He thought it was smart and unexpected of him. Harry took this the wrong way and began changing his plans. Seth stopped him and told him that the idea of two Harry's fighting Voldemort was unexpected of him and that that was a good thing. The more things that they do not expect him to do, the more of an advantage he had over them. Harry thought more on this idea. He expanded it and prepared. He set it up in case he needed the extra clothes and the extra set of wands for the second Harry. They were both going to get two wands; they were going to need them. It was something else that was unexpected of him. What was even more unexpected of him was the fact that the wands were bought in Knockturn Alley.

They quickly got dressed in the exact same apparel. Harry, handed SH, Slytherin Harry as he called him, a small, thin black box that came out of the larger one. They looked each other in the eye, communicating without speaking like they always did.

They had a telepathic relationship. It was a simple but also relatively complex one. Since they make up one being, they both represent one-half of Harry Potter: one for the good and one for the bad. As for their telepathic relationship, it seemed to come as naturally as thinking. Actually, to them, it was just thinking and with their mutual connection allowing them to communicate in their thoughts. Besides, SH, the Harry's Slytherin side, was telepathic. Both Harry and Seth pondered on that since neither Harry's parents, nor Voldemort, were telepathic.

**You ready**? SH asked Harry. Harry gulped loudly and looked suddenly pale.

I'm not ready. But if it's to protect the one I love, I'll do anything. Harry suddenly looked confident.

SH nodded to Harry and approached the Death Eater. He kicked the Death Eater on his back. Harry approached to see who the person was when SH sent him a telepathic picture. Harry froze and gasped. Red flames burst from the wands Harry held in tight grips and hit the Notice-Me-Not warding spell Harry had preformed around the perimeter. They deactivated it.

"Good job Gryffindor." SH said as he summoned the box and summoned the rest of their things that were scattered around the alley.

"It wasn't my fault I-I didn't know how to react to this." Harry said pointing at the Death Eater's silver hand.

"You always overreact." SH said in a matter-of-fact tone. It finished boxing their leftovers up and placed them in the box. He shrunk the box and placed it in his pocket. He straightened up his robes whilst Harry looked over the Death Eater, Pettigrew. Harry reared his foot back and kicked the now conscious Peter Pettigrew repeatedly anywhere he could reach.

SH put a Silencing Charm and Anti-Transformation Jinx around Peter and carefully picked up the Free-Will orb with a piece cloth that he found around the alley. A man walked pass the alley and slowed to a stop when he saw Harry, though he probably did not recognize Harry, kicking the cowering Peter. SH showed one of his wands to the man and the man quickly went about his business. SH relaxed somewhat.

"Harry, that's enough." Harry didn't hear him. He continued to beat Peter. "Harry, you won't be able to clear Sirius' name if you kill him." Still Harry didn't let up. SH moved to physically remove Harry away from killing Peter.

"I don't care about killing him." Harry said through sobs. "He's cost me too much. He needs to be hurt." Harry froze in mid-kick; he fell against and leaned onto the wall for support. Peter whimpered on the ground. He was bleeding profoundly.

"I never thought I'd see the day I would comfort a Gryffindor." SH said as he pulled Harry away from the wall and hugged him. Once again SH noticed they had attracted some attention. Maybe more attention than they needed. Maybe two guys hugging in an alley with another on the ground bleeding were a little unordinary in Knockturn Alley. Harry noticed too and soon separated himself away from SH. SH picked up the orb in the cloth from where he had placed it on the ground. Harry quickly formulated a plan for Wormtail. He sent this plan telepathically to SH.

Let's take him with us and give Voldemort a message. Harry said whilst ushering the crowd away by throwing Stinging Jinxes at them. Harry soon found the area clear and SH responded to him.

**I want to put every Notice-Me-Not charm there is, Dark or Light, on you. I will place every spell of the hiding nature on you. I will place every invisibility enchantment we know on you. You really need to be protected.** He said pointing his wand at Harry. Harry grew suddenly nervous.

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Unknown POV

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Five minutes later Harry was looking into a conjured mirror and found himself without any reflection. He walked around SH and SH did not even know he was there. He yelled and still made no sound. He stepped out into the dimly lit Knockturn Alley. He looked down and found that he did not even have a shadow. There was no essence of him being alive. He was truly invisible. _All thanks to SH_.

I'm ready. Harry said telepathically to SH.

**Great now tell me where you are so we can get going**! SH was frustrated. Harry snickered to himself and made his way to SH. He approached SH quietly from behind. Harry blew onto SH's neck, it was Harry's, therefore SH's, sweet spot, and watched as SH nearly fell off his own feet. SH steadied himself with indignity. He reached out and grabbed the unsuspecting and laughing Harry and punched him in the nose. That surely stopped the laughing.

Since Harry could speak and yell without anyone hearing them, it would silly for him to scream and tussle with SH after SH hit him. He quick settled his nose and stood eye-to-eye with SH and placed his arms on SH's shoulders knowing as well as SH that SH hated to be touched. But they both knew that since SH was holding Wormtail on his back and that Harry had to hold on to SH somewhere, in which the front would be the best place to hold on to.

**Let's do it, for Sirius.** Harry winced at SH's sentiment. He looked deeply into the eyes that were mere reflections of his and spoke with confidence. Though he knew it must be weird for SH to hear him and yet not see him.

Let's do it, for the sake of the Wizarding World, Draco, and Tonks For once SH didn't have any smart comments or replies. He inclined his head in agreement to Harry, though, once again, he could not see him.

SH shifted around somewhat. He pulled the Free-Will orb between them. He smiled into the area he expected Harry to be and touched the orb. It flashed a blue color. A terrifyingly bright-blue light bathed them and radiated around them till it felt as though it were part of them. Harry did not dare take his arms from around SH for fear of something happening to him. He closed his eyes tightly shut. That was when they felt the pull and knew they were being transported to Voldemort. For the first time Harry asked a question on whether or not he was ready.

What if I'm really not ready? He asked telepathically as the force that was pulling on them exerted more strength.

**You're ready. Just hang in there and stick to the plan.** Harry almost praised the fact that he, SH, was telepathic. Literally meaning, he was somewhat telepathic too. Before Harry could even send a message to SH, they landed. Well, technically, SH landed and Harry along with the Wormtail fell unceremoniously to the ground. **He should have held on more tightly**, SH thought to himself, which meant that Harry, heard him as well.

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Harry's POV

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Harry did not reply to the statement nor did he did he ask for help after falling. He quickly made his way in the opposite direction from SH. He knew SH had a mission to do and he had his own. _We must concentrate on their separate missions_. Harry's was to get everyone hostage to safety while SH held the Death Eaters and Voldemort off. Then they would…

A twinge in his scar announced Voldemort's arrival. He gasped slightly at the sudden appearance of hundreds of people in black cloaks. Harry heard a bell run through his head, SH's silly and irritating idea of a signal. The signal that Harry should begin his mission and that Voldemort had brought Tonks and Draco with him. Harry rolled his eyes, SH was always doing things like this. The first time he had, Harry had read so many books and transferred the headache over to SH that SH retaliated and caused as much noise inside Harry's head as possible. He could not wait to do it again. He hoped he would be able to do it again.

SH closed off his mind to their connection and Harry did the same. He heard SH speaking to the Dark Masses. For some reason Harry shivered. He did not want SH to fight his battles. Albeit, it was partially SH fight as well. Throughout the years, even though he remained silent, he helped Harry to evolve and evolved himself. Harry shook his head and went back to thinking and searching.

"If I were Voldemort, where would I hide hostages?" Harry asked himself silently as he approached the mass multitude of black cloaks for the rear. He saw an explosion. At first he thought it was SH's signal, but it was followed by laughter so he knew otherwise. The Dark Masses seemed in tumult in the head. Harry watched, as those in the back grew restless and socialized amongst themselves.

Voldemort yelled out in fury and the Dark Masses went quiet, awaiting directions and fun. Harry felt a tiny shift in the air and felt magic crackle from the other side of the field. It was a large field with very little obstacle trees and houses in the way. He hoped those houses and trees were evacuated. He paused what he was doing and focused on the other side of the field. There they were, unmistakably, the Order of the Phoenix in all their glory. They approached the Dark Masses.

Harry could hear yelling and then SH 'talking' to Voldemort but paid no attention to it at all. He made his way to the back of the Dark Masses, to where he knew Voldemort would either have Tonks and Draco being tortured and or being held. Harry sped up instantly at the thought of Tonks being tortured.

He approached the seemingly end of the sea of endless black. It was kind of hard to tell with it being a nighttime color outside. Harry was mostly concentrating on trying not to run into some unsuspecting Death Eater. Harry saw two guys dressed in deep night colors, almost darker than the colors around them. Harry approached them silently and quickly cast a Confounding and a momentarily Freezing Spell on everyone in a one-mile radius. He knew that burst of power would be inspected by Voldemort and soon. Harry quickly gathered the limp Tonks in his arms and levitated the limp, and seemingly unconscious, Draco. He was on his way as someone yelled.

Everyone looked and saw nothing there. He quickly got them away from the Death Eaters as the spells on the confounded ones ran out.

Finally, Harry found shelter in the forest and threw the charms SH placed on him onto Tonks and Draco. He gave SH the signal, which was a wandless ball of flames in between the two amassed armies. It exploded leaving a wall of fire between SH and the Order. It seemed like forever but Harry signal was returned by a dome-like barrier of magic surrounding the Order of the Phoenix and protecting them from the spells of the Death Eaters. Harry quickly dodged spell after spell, his protection had long since worn out, levitating Tonks and Draco towards the dome of golden magic. It illuminated the night, or evening.

He wanted to ask SH what was going on, but he knew better than to distract SH while he's fighting, if he was fighting.

Having reached the dome and literally out of breath, Harry reached out to the dome and was absorb into it quickly, as he had tampered with the magic in the dome, along with his passengers. He was pulled in a see-through dome. _One-way mirror_, Harry thought as he saw through the place he had just entered, how very clever of SH. He turned his attention to those in the dome and paled.

They were all looking at Harry as though he was the lowest form of trash in the universe and had committed the worst of crimes. Ron approached him with the most shocked look on his face. But he was stopped from inflicting harm to Harry as Mrs. Weasley flew from halfway across the dome and punched Harry in the stomach. Harry doubled over holding his stomach. His wand fell to the ground.

"You traitor, I should have seen through all that talk about finding Dark books and destroying them." She stepped on his wand breaking it into two pieces and kicked Harry slightly hard. Hermione came forward and held Mrs. Weasley from killing him.

"Let's leave him for the Ministry. Use of a Unforgivable should get him a Dementor's Kiss." Hermione said with tears in her eyes and utter loathing of Harry written all over her face. "I should have known he was going dark when Dumbledore told us to watch him closely." She spat upon her friend and led the weeping Mrs. Weasley away from the dumbstruck Harry. It was completely silent as Remus walked forward towards Harry, red in the face. And he was not blushing.

"You put Lily, James, and Sirius to shame." He said in a deadly whisper as he grabbed Harry by the hair and forced his head, with terrifying strength, into the direction of a crumpled body. Several of the people in the dome were gathered around the body whilst others sat on the floor with their heads in their hands weeping. Remus forced Harry's face towards his so that they were now face-to-face.

"You killed off the last hope the Wizarding World had," Harry eyes went wide with shock as he figured who the crumpled body was, "I should not have listened to Tonks." Remus said increasing the pressure on Harry's neck, his new hand placement. "Now look where she is-." He was stopped by a growl emitting from Harry.

Harry's anger flashed and he knew it. Next thing he knew he was receiving power from SH and gathering his own for a defensive attack on Remus. Remus paled as he looked into Harry's eyes. There was a flash of light and Remus was thrown off of Harry at top speed. He hit the dome's barrier and fell to the ground. Harry's second wand flew into his hand and he let SH's power recede. He mentally thanked SH for making him bring two wands. In an instant there were more than fifty wands trained on him.

Harry did not take kind to that but he knew there was nothing he could do at the moment. He swung his wand in a tight arc. A green light flashed across the room to where Harry was when he entered. Everyone jumped out of the way of the curse. Several people threw curses at Harry though Harry had quickly preformed a shielding spell around himself as soon as he felt the spells coming. Harry noticed one person not joining in at hurting him. Ginny. Harry closed his eyes and focused on communicating with her.

_Ginny_. Harry called out. _Ginny._ Ginny head snapped into his direction. Ginny, you don't have to believe I didn't kill Dumbledore. But at least help save Tonks and Draco. Ginny eyes went wide as she rushed forward and knocked Harry to the ground. She shook Harry went all her might.

"Where are they, Harry?" She all but screamed. The others watched this confusing scene with heads of stubbornness. Harry yanked back from her and nodded into the direction of his green curse. She jumped off of him and ran in that direction.

Harry, how are you holding up? Came the voice of SH through his head. Harry wanted to scream.

**Oh, they're just trying to kill me because they think I was you and that I/you killed Dumbledore**. There was a moment of silence. This was broken by the sound of laughter through the link.

_Mr. Potter, or should I say Potters, I hope that my resting isn't forcing any labor upon you._ A weakly cheerful voice said. Harry eyes went physically and mentally wide.

DUMBLEDORE! Harry yelled telepathically. He looked at the still body of Dumbledore and thought back to the voices that were laughing in his head. _Oh this is too much for one day_, Harry thought.

**I told you it wasn't going to be easy.** SH said still laughing at Harry's misfortune.

* * *

SH's Point of View

* * *

Harry had just left. He knew it and Voldemort was arriving, he could sense it. It was advantage of being attached, in a way, to Voldemort. He became wary of his surroundings. SH quickly became attentive and suspicious of the very shifting of the wind. One of his wands were instantly in his hand as the winds shifting became out of hand because soon no less than three hundred Death Eaters apparated onto the field. SH could even taste the essence of port-key which meant that they brought Tonks and Draco.

He sent Harry the signal telling him he should begin searching now. He closed off his mind afterwards. His face went dark; a great trait of his that he was sure would scare people to no end. He called out into the Dark Masses, exasperatedly.

"Where is your leader? Isn't he usually at the head of such ignorance?" SH said sounding irritated and bored. A ripple went through the Dark Masses. Several in the front hissed at Harry in detestation and stood up for their leader. They parted to let the tallest and slightly thinnest of the group through. Lord Voldemort stepped up to the head. In his slightly billowing war-robe gave the illusion of a Mage. _Something Voldemort was definitely not, no matter how many magical transformations he had_.

"Not as cocky as I expected you to be, but at least our guess has arrived." SH was not even paying attention, he was dragging the body of Wormtail to the center of their attention. SH smiled at them and pointed his wand at Wormtail. He spoke in a slightly hissing tone.

"Crucio." A shiver went through the army of darkness. SH continued torturing the ignorant imbecile. He did not even look at the convulsing creature at his feet. He stared stoically ahead into the eyes the leader Voldemort.

He let the sensation of the curse overcome him. The feeling of sick pleasure that came to him was from neither his release of power nor the wailing being on the ground. No, SH received his pleasure from Voldemort. The man, if he can be called that, who was trying so desperately to look impassive whilst his followers were getting bug-eyed. And SH continued until one of the foremost Death Eaters launched one of the most deathly of curses at him. The _Powera-Desturo_.

If there was ever a time in SH's time with Harry that he felt scared, that moment would be now. The _Powera-Desturo_ was the curse used in medieval times to strip wizards of their magic. And not only did it do that, it gave whatever magical strengths, levels, and abilities to the caster. But the curse was rarely used after one criminal found a way to block it. He was shocked that one Death Eater even knew of it.

SH briskly searched _his_ mind and found that Voldemort had no knowledge of the curse on that night; the night in which Voldemort killed Harry's parents and transferred the essence of SH over to Harry. Voldemort's memories showed many ways he could possibly block it, but none fully precise in the blocking of the curse's effect. In a desperate move, he searched Harry's mind for anything related to the curse. He was still a part of Harry, even if they could not communicate.

As the midnight-colored curse sped nearer and nearer towards him, SH was astonished to find that Harry knew of the curse. Harry had such adequate knowledge of the curse; he knew everything from a way to change the course of the curse, to a way to make the curse backfire with such strength it could cause the explosion of the original caster. He did not perceive the thought of inquiring on how Harry knew, in such depth, a curse not known for centuries. He only knew he had to do something, and do it fast.

SH pulled out another wand and bellowed:

"_Siamatunious-Trevavelto_." A bright-yellow light barreled into the icky-black colored one. SH used a combination of the two spells Harry knew. The _Siama-Tunious_ and the _Treva-Velto_; one to make the curse backfire, the other to magnify the other. With Wormtail being tortured with one wand and the power that the second curse took, SH soon felt the strain on his magic and released the _Crucio_ from Wormtail. The creature coughed up blood onto SH's pants. The lingering effect of the _Crucio_ curse boosted SH's input into the other spell.

His wand and wand hand turned the bright-yellow color of the spell. The spell bore into the Death Eater's and, going through the icky-black one, hit the Death Eater. He had seen many things from Voldemort's deranged and maniacal mind, but none were with men having their wands blown up and then their magic taken away from them, followed consecutively by the explosion of themselves. It was almost sick.

The explosion caused fleshy bits of Death Eater to splatter the surrounding Death Eater. Voldemort, in an act of maniacal supremacy, grabbed one of the nearby Death Eaters and used him or her, as SH was not sure, as a shield to block the raining bits of human flesh that showered his followers. SH threw up a weak physical force field around himself and Wormtail, though by accident. And, after delivering a disgusted kick to Wormtail, cleaned the blood and other bodily liquids off of his robes and shoes.

SH watched a hilarious scene unfold right before his eyes. The Death Eaters definitely had not expected such a brutish attack on one of their own. They sure as hell did not expect to be battered with human flesh. The more experienced of the lot, most of the foremost ones, followed their leaders example and grabbed hold of their fellow Death Eaters to stem the incoming assault.

SH bellowed out laughter as the Death Eaters cursed each other and brawling and tumult that reigned upon them. SH felt the magic in the air shift. He ignored it as Voldemort's temper. Inasmuch, Voldemort gave a yell of fury and in the blink on an eye he threw the killing curse at SH.

There were several ways in which he could block the killing curse, all involving some kind of transfiguration. But all methods of perceiving these spells were disintegrated from SH's mind as death rushed to him in full force. There seemed to be a hull as the Death Eaters froze to watch the supposed killing of Harry Potter.

And as if on cue, several shouts of 'Harry' were heard from the far-right of SH. This alerted SH of the arrival of Dumbledore and his order.

A blur mass of black pushed SH back and jumped in betwixt the Killing Curse and SH. SH desperately tried to keep his balance and watched as the mass of inhumane treachery, a.k.a. Wormtail, took the curse initiated for him.

"I'M SORRY!" He had yelled as the curse struck him. Wormtail fell to the ground still glowing a greenish color.

It was easy to tell the Voldemort placed a lot of energy into the spell._ At least he won't be casting another in the next few minutes_, SH thought to himself. SH immediately gathered his stoic facade, when he was really tormented inside. It should have been Harry to see the traitor die so he could curse him, verbally of course. Since Wormtail did owe his dept to Harry. _Such a waste of protection_, SH thought.

"So ends the simpleton." Both SH and Voldemort said at the same time looking on at the body of Wormtail. Voldemort raised his wand. Knowing he was already at protected in his own way, SH did not worry on Voldemort attacking him. There was no way in hell he was going into stupefaction like he did the first time though.

"He won't be needing this." Voldemort said flicking his wand at Wormtail.

The body gave a jerk and the silver hand Voldemort had rewarded him melted and pour forth into Voldemort's wand. _Wow, he doesn't waste a thing_, SH thought with a laugh. Voldemort's attention snapped to him as he continued laughing.

"What's so funny, Potter?" He asked fire licking at his eyes. SH never faltered even when he felt the Order of the Phoenix approach precariously from the right.

"Oh nothing Tom." Voldemort hissed at him walking forward determined. "I was merely contemplating the look on your face was the act same as when you avenged Sara's death." The Dark Lord paused, he stumbled and fell the ground. In an act of unison the Order and the Death Eaters gasped at the sudden act of weakness. A voice like no other was heard. It was the voice of an older Tom Riddle, not the evil one but the younger more passionate one.

"How did you know?" He asked facing SH. One hand was clutching his heart as if he were in pain.

"How could I not know the reason behind why you became Lord Voldemort, my dear Tom Riddle? You and I are, as many could say, _two eggs in a nest_. One rolls away, and yet one falls to the darkness beneath the branch only because the nest shook a little." SH threw a glance at the Order and saw Dumbledore watching him inquiringly.

"Sara was your only remaining family, and the muggles took her away. The same with my parents Tom. Only difference was, _you _took my _parents_ away Tom not the muggles, _you_. In opposition to the muggles taking Sara away. That was the _only_ reason why I denounced your proposition of my joining you in my first year. Do you not see how relatively close you were as you almost succeeded in bringing me over to the Dark?" SH asked as Voldemort gave an invulnerable shudder and opened his mouth in a silent scream before nodding.

SH took measured steps away from the ticking bomb. SH was not trying to break Voldemort, well maybe he was, but that was not the only reason why he was bringing up the Dark Lord's past youth-torment. He wanted to show everyone that _he_ and Voldemort were very much alike. Though he used reference to Harry, most were in explaining his being and personality. Besides, if his calculations were correct, Voldemort was going to blow and SH was buying Harry some much-needed time.

"We were both raised with shaking branches. Muggles treated us like dirt. Only you fell because of Sara. I had no one to care about. Until Sirius." There was a burst of magic that caused the hairs on the back of SH's neck to stand. There was commotion in the back of the Dark Masses. SH knew Harry had done some kind of powerful spell. _Harry should be more careful of the magic he uses_, SH thought as he worked the rest of his plan in the back of his head.

He could easily tell that Voldemort was no longer in his palm not under his control. The Dark Lord stood straight and tall. The power coming of off him was radiant. He stared as SH with precarious eyes. There was still internal struggling.

**Dumbledore**. Harry said quickly calling out to the man. SH saw shock flash across his features before he answered.

_Harry? How is the possible?_ He stared at SH for a moment.

**I'm not Harry, but I am a friend of Harry's**. Dumbledore shook his head.

_You're not? How do I know you're a friend of Harry's, your magical signature is clouded?_

**Look. Right now there is no time to be stalling we have to buy Harry as much time as possible as he rescues Tonks and Malfoy.**

_Malfoy but... What do you want me to do?_ Dumbledore stared at Voldemort now, who was shacking his head as if to clear it.

**I need you trust me.**

_I see no need not to. You did not lie to me about being Harry's friend. I can see into your mind as much as you let me, I know of your connection with Harry. But not w-_

**Great. I'm going to cast a spell on you, no matter what that spell is, I want you to say this spell: _Malaura-Expando-Protecodomas_.** SH said as Voldemort once more looked at him.

_Malaura-Expando-Protecodomas_. Dumbledore said reciting the spell to perfection.

**You have to trust me on this. It could save many a life.**

_Ok, but please, who are you?_

Not wanting to waste time, but wanting Dumbledore to trust him completely he gave a quick analysis on who he was and Dumbledore, at the least was shocked, but nevertheless, was trusting.

"Potter are you saying what I think you are?" SH gave a feral smile.

"What do you think Tom?" Voldemort raised scaly eyebrow, causing some of the Order members to shudder.

"I think you are proposing that you yourself is turning to the darkness '_beneath the branch_'." Several members of both parties gasped. "And if your performance earlier wasn't an example, I'll be a Hufflepuff." He gave a high pitched laugh. SH snorted mentally.

**You would think he was one with that kind of laugh**. SH said before he saw Dumbledore's eyes narrow and his beard twitch with mirth.

"Let's ask the all powerful Albus Dumbledore." SH said with so much hate and sarcasm in his tone that Dumbledore was truly amazed.

_The Sorting Hat was right when it said Harry would do good in Slytherin if he is able to pull off as much acting skill as you._

**Dumbledore, you would be simply amazed at how good at being Slytherin some Gryffindor's could be.**

_Are you thinking and suggesting what I think you're thinking and suggesting?_ Dumbledore said amused.

_Show them Death Eaters what a Glytheriff is like!_ Dumbledore gave a mental laugh and spoke physically to give his part of the act.

"Harry, I think deep down you know what's right." Dumbledore said a tear trekking down his face. "I know you know what's right from wrong. I know you like the rest of the Order can see through facades. You and I both know the seriousness of this situation. If you turn dark, Harry, you will damn the entire world." It took all of SH's self-control to shift his amusement to the deep corners of his and Harry's Inner Chamber.

"You will see whose going to be damned Dumbledore." SH said as a ball of fire exploded leaving a wall of fire between the Order and SH. Everyone jumped back to avoid the blaze.

**Damn, Harry doesn't miss a cue at all. Get ready Dumbledore, the spell is _Malaura-Expando-Protecodomas_.**

_Ready!_

With a shuddering breath released a curse at Dumbledore when the firewall collapsed.

"_AVADA KEDEVRA_!" The spell exploded with so much force, SH had to step back a few steps. Both sides looked on in awe, fear, and apprehension as the curse sped towards Dumbledore. Everyone including Dumbledore went into shock. SH watched as Dumbledore winked at him and shouted:

"_Malaura-Expando-Protecodomas_!" A multi-hued beam shot from his wand at the Killing Curse. SH watched as Dumbledore smiled even when the spells connected, paused, turned and continued heading towards him. As the spell hits their target Dumbledore slumped to the ground. There was an agonizing cry. SH was watching resisting the urge he had to bite his nails.

Suddenly, a phoenix SH registered as Dumbledore's, appeared. It gave a cry, one the tore the very center of SH's heart and flew above Dumbledore. A beam of multicolored light went from Dumbledore's body to the phoenix. The beam began to expand. Suddenly it spread, shrouding the Order of the Phoenix. Blocking them from view. The top of the obstruction closed over. It was now a dome of golden light.

The phoenix disappeared, but SH was sure he saw it wink at him. _It knew_?

After a few moments some Death Eaters began sending spells at the dome. Not one even touched it. Even the Killing Curse. More and more Death Eaters were sending spells at it. But the spells stopped and disappeared before reaching the dome. SH noticed something about the Death Eaters. Each one had a flame on top of their heads. The flames were either black or white. SH knew it was another purpose of Harry's wandless fire spell. It was to alert SH and SH only, which Death Eaters were capable of doing good deeds and should be spared. He rolled his eyes at Harry's hero ethics.

SH watched with a smug look on his face as Voldemort looked at him with one could only call glee. SH returned the look as the dome flashed a darker gold color. And suddenly, all of the spells were flying at the Death Eaters with haste.

SH smiled at the dome. It was the only spell Harry had made. It had all of the initial protection mechanisms and it backfired spells. It was easy to infiltrate, though only those who were able to reach out to the very strands of magic, and not everyone could do that, were able to enter, even then you have to remember how the stands go. And the best of all, it protected everyone within range of the caster. One of the reasons why Harry's signal was a wall of fire. It separated the two armies with ease. The spell only needed a powerful caster, a powerful familiar, and a powerful initiation spell. One that had long lasting effects. The dome only lasted as long as the initiation spell did and if the initiation spell was easy to bring down, the dome would be as well. And what better spell than the impossible to block unforgivable, the one that removes the body from the soul indefinitely and for eternity.

As Death Eater after Death Eater fell to victim his or her own spells, Voldemort turned to SH.

"Join me and we can destroy my, I mean _our_, enemies." He had a new look in his eyes that almost made SH turn green. It was lust. SH saw above Voldemort's head was a peculiar flame. It was half-black and half-white. _Curious_, thought SH.

SH watched as a Death Eater with a pure black flame ran up to Voldemort and began catching his breath. At first he ignored the Death Eater as he felt Harry in desperate need of power. After transferring some power through their link, SH tuned into the Death Eaters speech.

"My Lord, the prisoners have escaped." The Death Eater was dead instantly as Voldemort beheaded him in rage. The head still held the black flame for several moments after his death.

"Please excuse my followers. When we come together and the world sees us, many stronger followers shall be recruited." SH nodded.

"What prisoners were he speaking of?" SH asked trying to sound as curious as possible, even though he already knew the answer.

"None you should worry over," Voldemort said putting a gangling arm around SH. Before he knew what hit him, he was on his back with a gory whole in his stomach.

"I won't worry but you should." SH said as Voldemort hissed in abhorrence and disappeared from the field. SH knew he would be back though, and soon.

He turned back to the fight as a he felt a stirring in the telepathic connection.

Harry, how are you holding up? Came the voice of SH through his head. Harry wanted to scream.

**Oh, their just trying to kill me because they think I was you and that I/you killed Dumbledore**. There was a moment of silence. This was broken by the sound of laughter through the link.

_Mr. Potter, or should I say Potters, I hope that my resting isn't forcing any labor upon you._ A weakly cheerful voice said. Harry eyes went physically and mentally wide.

DUMBLEDORE! Harry yelled telepathically. SH began mentally laughing as he chanted a few spells on the Death Eaters around him with black flames on the top of their heads.

**I told you it wasn't going to be easy.** SH said still laughing at Harry's misfortune.

* * *


	4. The Meeting Part 2

**_Friendship_**

**_The Meeting (Part 2)  
_**

_**Friendships are made at the strangest time and with the strangest people and things. Harry/Tonks. Harry finds out some things about himself, and Tonks learns more about Harry**_**_. Post OoTP_**

* * *

**SH-telepathy**

Harry-telepathy

_Dumbledore-telepathy_

Harry angrily got up from his place on the floor that Ginny had left him. Wands were immediately trained on him once more._ 'Resting', the bastard was resting while I am being tortured by his order_. Harry could not wait to get his hands around that bastard's neck. But he realized sadly that there was no way he was going to get to Dumbledore without losing some body-part. As if sensing Harry's motive, the Order members quickly began enclosing him, Harry's temper flared. He hated to be shut in places.

Harry snarled at the approaching Order members, causing some to falter. He had his wand but he should really start using his wandless magic abilities. He did not want to use that unless absolutely necessary. A last action of comeback was for what his powers were._ But what in the name of hell is taking Dumbledore so long to get up_.

Harry was seriously getting pissed off now. He wanted to yell into their connection for Dumbledore to get up, but that would could risk irritating SH. He was a real bitch about things like interruptions. That left only one thing to do.

Harry put his head down and squared his shoulders.

"Damn it, Dumbledore, get your barmy, maniacal arse up." He yelled at the top of his voice. He did not dare raise his eyes to see the reactions his shouting had made. To be honest, he was scared now. But that ended when he was grabbed roughly behind.

It was like going in slow motion. He felt someone squeezing him from behind. One strong arm attached itself to his neck. The pressure was enough to snap his neck. The amount of force and power holding and strangling him easily quickly gave away his attacker's identity. The raw supernatural power was held only by the undead, as Harry remembered from a book, and of course werewolves. _Damn Dumbledore, why won't he wake up_, Harry thought angrily as he was driven to the ground. Bolts of pain flashed through his body as his ribcage was collapsing under the pressure. Tears of pain began to fill his eyes.

"How dare you, you-." A surprisingly familiar chuckling interrupted Remus' growling.

"Oh, let the boy go." Harry used every ounce of power inside of him to turn his head. The tears in his eyes were increasing as the pressure on his arms and chest suddenly disappeared. He glared blearily at the spot in which the chuckling was heard from.

After a few moments of blinking, he saw sitting in that spot in a very undignified manner was Albus _fucking_ Dumbledore._ Who was very much alive_, Harry sarcastically regarded. Several startled people exclaimed his name in shock. Others sunk to the ground in a faint. Harry was not sure whether they were overwhelmed with relief, shock, or guilt. He really did not care.

"D-Dumbledore!" Remus said from behind Harry. Harry tried sitting up and even though he succeeded, it was quite painful. He turned to face the pale werewolf.

"Yes it's Dumbledore, you fucking supernatural nitwit." Remus reared back in shock. Dumbledore too. Harry tried standing but failed. He recovered by trying to get life back into his arms and legs by shaking them.

"Now young Harry, no need for name calling." Dumbledore said in his serious and chastising voice. Harry's anger rose alarmingly. He was aware of his telepathic connection to SH opening. He opened his mouth to yell, only to have SH take it over.

"Don't you 'now young Harry' me. _You_ weren't the one who was nearly beaten to a bloody pulp by some morbid inhuman half-wolf." Harry took control for a moment. "I'm starting to see Madam Umbridge's way of thinking." SH took control as Harry watched the stunned and guilty faces around him. "_You,_ Dumbledore, weren't thrashed by some over-reactive, high-tempered red-heads. And let's not forget the fact that I was spit upon by that mudblood of a bitch, Granger!" Dumbledore gasped in shock at both Harry's language and the brutality of his Order.

"All because they were _senseless_ enough to think I would kill you." He stood tall, ignoring the bolt of hot pain that raked through him. He let the emotions he felt channel through him causing even Dumbledore to move back and stand up.

"Harry I-." Remus started touching his arm. He was once again blown into the dome's golden barrier. Harry took control of his body once more.

"Don't you dare touch me you two-faced treacherous piece of vermin. You should have died with that asshole Wormtail." Harry turned to face Dumbledore and saw his anger rivaled on Dumbledore's features.

"Don't even think about it Dumbledore," He said causing Dumbledore's mouth to snap shut. Ron in his impeccable need to impress Hermione tried to avenge her.

"Apologize to Hermione." He said pompously. SH made Harry, surprisingly, pocketed his wand and stand completely defenseless before them. _Ron could not miss taking a shot at me while I'm unprotected_. Harry realized this was SH's objective.

"I will not apologize but I would like to see you try and make me." Harry felt that SH had insurmountable control over him, and he liked it.

He might not have liked what SH said about Hermione but they all needed to be taught a lesson. He let SH take absolute control before he remembered that SH needed to be fighting outside the dome.

**Don't worry Harry, I'm having fun in both bodies**. Harry felt SH smirk mentally. **I'm about to have even more fun in your body though.** _Oh Merlin_! He heard SH laughing again.

_Do what you must Mr. Potters, just don't hurt them too much_. Dumbledore said through the link.

Ron stepped forward and yelled:

"_IMPERIO_." Harry was surprised with everyone else, but SH was not and Harry's face did not show surprise.

**Can we hurt him now?**

SH and Harry watched as the curse neared Harry's body. It was so weak however that it dissipated before it even reached Harry's body. SH merely blinked.

"RON!" Several people shouted. SH smiled causing Harry to pry into his thoughts and see what he was up to.

"Wow, that wasss... powerful." SH said laughing quietly in a replica of Voldemort's voice. Ron turned red. "That wasss you first try at the Dark Artsss, I can tell. But let me ssshow you what a master can do." SH raised Harry's wand at Ron who went pale. Dumbledore stood before Ron and spoke to SH, not Harry.

"SH leave Harry's body and go to your own." SH reared back a little, in shock.

"Who are you to tell me what to do?" SH said making his voice as snake-like as Voldemort's. "But sssince I have better thingsss to do..." He trailed off and made Harry cast a wandless spell.

The spell went around Dumbledore and threw Ron on his feet and several feet in the air into Hermione and a few other Order of the Phoenix members. Everyone's wands were once again steadied on Harry. But everyone was too confused to do anything.

"You keep a better grip on your Order membersss, Dumbledore, or you might lose a few. Especially the mudblood, ssshe sssickensss me." SH hissed to Dumbledore, who nodded.

Harry reeled at the sudden exclusion of SH. And just before he steadied himself he was hit with SH's memories. Memories of what SH had done when they first arrived on the field flooded in their connection. Harry was surprised at SH's calm demeanor. It puzzled Harry to no end that SH could be facing death and still manage to exert a good composure. Voldemort's reaction to his sister's name caused Harry to gasp, mentally of course. He was so into SH's memories that he did not notice SH use him to launch another spell at the Order. SH caught them by surprise as their wands disappeared. SH smiled evilly.

"Voldemort should be pleased."

"SH, GO." Dumbledore ordered.

_SH what are you doing? And where is Harry?_ Dumbledore asked mystified.

I'm here Dumbledore, I'll be out in a moment. Harry said.

**Don't worry Dumbledore, I'm just going to scare them.**

"Wow, if taking your wandsss wasss that easssy, Voldemort could have taken over a long time ago," SH said in the hissing voice. Several members went for their second and emergency wands, only to find those gone as well.

"What do you think you're doing, Potter?" Hermione growled. SH smiled at her.

"Niccce of you not to call me Harry, I abhor hisss name. Anyhow, I'm just dessstroying your wandsss." Everyone's eyes went wide. "After all, _Matron Weasssley_ did destroy Harry's." Dumbledore looked to Mrs. Weasley as she hung her head, "which," SH continued, "is a crime. But '_I'll let the Ministry handle it_'." SH said mocking Hermione once more.

"Give us our wands and leave." Dumbledore said exasperatedly.

Harry was once more reeling from SH making a sudden departure. He planted his feet steadily and shook his head to clear away the void that SH had just occupied.

"Sorry about that Dumbledore, he really wanted to... um meet, Hermione and Ron." Harry waved his hand and wands appeared back into their owner's hands.

"Who is SH?" Someone asked. Harry did not answer. _They would probably think I'm crazy_. He thought as rubbed his aching temples.

"He is no one _you_ should worry about." Harry said.

"Headmaster what's going on?" Mrs. Weasley asked clearly expecting a straightforward answer.

"You will have to ask Harry." He said turning to glare at his Order. " But what I _want_ to know, is why you reacted the way you did. I expected my Order to hear the hidden meaning in my words or at least keep an open mind. SH's words along with mine clearly showed that it was and act to ensure protection for _you_. It's hard for me to believe that you acted the way you did. I am ashamed." Harry stared at Dumbledore for a moment and saw the sadness in his bare blue eyes.

"If you knew you should have told us so-." Ron started angrily. Harry sighed and spoke in a tired voice.

"Voldemort would have picked it up, he is a smart man you really shouldn't underestimate him." Harry said as Ron glared at him. Harry saw a little paleness creeping up Ron's face. Ron was about to say something when Dumbledore spoke.

"Harry is right. Voldemort would have seen right through. Not everyone here can hide his or her emotions. He would have seen right through the facade. Besides, Mr. Weasley, we did not prepare for this-." Harry interrupted Dumbledore.

"_You_ didn't, but SH and I did," Harry said.

"Who is SH?" Someone demanded.

"None of you goddamn business!" Harry yelled with an explosive sigh at the end.

"Language." Dumbledore said with a smile. Harry glared at him.

"Headmaster, with all of the stuff Harry said out there," Mrs. Weasley said pleadingly, "how was it possible not to believe he killed you." Harry's anger flared. The rest of the Weasley's rushed to Mrs. Weasley's defense.

"You know Molly, I expected something better out of all of you." Dumbledore said with a glare. "It amazes me that Harry and SH, two sixteen year-olds, are able to comprehend better that a group of adults. I am mortified that-." Harry once again interrupted him.

"Give it a rest Dumbledore." Harry said. "And for your information Mrs. Weasley, it wasn't me saying that stuff out there. And even if it was, you should have seen through it." He paused to catch his breath. "Still though, I find it funny you say that you could believe what was said out there-,"

"I didn't say that-."

"Oh, but you did. 'Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks'. You said that you could believe, with all of the things SH said out there, that I was going to the dark side. There is a thing called acting. You know, when you pretend you have different character or are a different person. I find it funny that the every person in this dome believed I had gone dark without even thinking of the possibility that it was acting of diversion."

"No offense Dumbledore, but it must be said that, without you as the head, the Order of the Phoenix would be like a chicken without a head. No pun attached. It seems to me that everyone seems to look to you for reaction instead of thinking on his or her own. Pathetic." Harry finished up.

"How dare you. You are just jealous that Dumbledore can lead a group and you can't." Ron said. Harry started laughing.

"Other than the fact the you whole statement was completely irrelevant to this conversation, you Ron Weasley have some balls to call me jealous." Ron went red. "Hey that rhymed, 'balls to call', I have to use it more often." Dumbledore smiled at Harry's joke. Harry went serious suddenly. "You know, I just realized why everyone uses 'Gryffindor' as a insult. It really is an insult. No Gryffindor ever, including my old self, thinks out of the box. We never think outside what is planted right before our eyes. Stupidity!" Harry exclaimed as Ron bared his teeth at him.

"So, you're turning against your own house. How Slytherin." Dumbledore raised his wand to Ron to intercept any spells sent Ron's way.

"Thanks, I take that as a compliment since I was almost placed in Slytherin." Harry smiled sweetly at the astonished looks he was receiving.

"Harry ease up on them. You know how they are." A new person said. Ginny approached Harry with Tonks and Draco on stretchers floating behind her. Harry nodded a greeting.

"How are they doing?" Harry asked ignoring the looks he and Ginny were receiving.

"They are doing fine. I'm just having a problem flushing some things out of their systems." She said clearly not wanting to indulge farther into this conversation.

"What's inside of them?" Harry asked stepping towards Ginny threateningly. His advances didn't even stir her.

"Several potions. Thank heavens Madam Pomfrey made me carry around that 'Healer Helper Kit' it has everything I need to keep them stable." Harry gave her a look. "Okay, I'm going to regret this. They have dark, darker than dark potions in them. I'm doing my best to keep from activating the spells on them." She sighed and began casting some medicated spells on the two.

"Spells w-what spells?" Harry asked feeling the blood rushing from his face.

"Death activation spells." Harry began to swoon. Dumbledore rushed forward and caught Harry before he hit the ground. With the barest of glances, Ginny threw an Enervating Spell at him.

"How did you get them?" Hermione asked Ginny.

"Harry brought them, or should I say, this Harry brought them." Dumbledore was so shocked that he dropped the equally shocked Harry.

"How did you know?" Harry asked her curiously.

"I, unlike everyone else here, knows a diversion act when I see it. It must be the fact that I housed a Slytherin in my head for a year." Ginny and Harry laughed causing Ron to make a ugly face, "that plus the fact that you look completely bewildered when _they_ accused you of killing Dumbledore when you were supposed to be the one to cast the spell." She paused from pouring potions down Tonks and Draco's throats. Some gasped at the fact that there was a Malfoy there, but they _thankfully_ did not say anything. "I also went through your memories when you spoke to me telepathically." All Harry could do was nod at her brilliance.

" 'Telepathically'! Harry isn't telepathic." Hermione said dubious. "And what _are_ you talking about?" Ginny was disconcerted as she spoke to Harry.

"You mean they didn't know?" Harry blushed.

"No what?" Ron asked suspiciously.

"Well, I don't tell them everything." Harry said shrugging his shoulders at the glares sent his way.

"What else have you've been hiding?" Ron asked slipping an arm around Hermione.

"What have you?" Ginny asked to the now blushing duo.

"May I tell them Harry?" Dumbledore said with a mischievous smirk. Harry rolled his eyes and turned away.

"Well, you see-." The dome flashing colors interrupted him. Harry recognized it immediately.

"What's happening Harry?" Dumbledore asked worriedly.

"Someone's trying to Apparate in. Apparently they are trying to apparate into the safest part of the field. And that would be the dome." Some members were beginning to get worried; other's remained vigilant.

"Are they..." Dumbledore trailed off not knowing exactly how to phrase what he wanted to say.

"They must be on the light side if they want to go to the safest part of the field." Hermione said in her know-it-all voice. Several people began laughing at her.

"You know Potter, I'm starting to see what you see." Alastor Moody. The others continued laughing as Hermione turned to Dumbledore for help. Harry laughed at her expression as she saw Dumbledore making faces at her. Many others began laughing.

"What are you laughing at?" She said to the others, clearly not wanting to blame Dumbledore for their actions.

"I'm sorry but... You know what I'm not sorry. But those faces were hilarious and what you said was purely stupid." Harry said.

"No it wasn't, it was logic it was-." Hermione started.

"...Stupid. How do you know if it isn't Voldemort trying to find where the hideout was and trying to gain entrance." Hermione turned red as people continued laughing this time at her feeblemindedness.

"OH, I didn't see that." She said abashed.

"You shouldn't use the 'it's logic' phrase anymore. Just because smart Ravenclaws say it and you consider yourself to be as smart as them doesn't mean you should say it." Hermione was too shocked to say anything.

"SO, are you going to see who it is. It could be help." Ginny said.

"Everyone needs to be ready first. CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" He yelled so suddenly that the only person who did not jump was Moody. Several people began laughing. He gave what Harry perceived as a smile.

"Good one, Potter."

"Thanks Professor." Harry said innocently. Moody growled causing a few people to step away. Dumbledore, who Harry was sure to be shaking with laughter and shock, rushed to the dome's golden barrier. He touched it and followed Harry's mental instructions on how to let others into the dome.

In the center of the dome, the ground began to light up with a bright yellow. Those inside that area immediately moved and steadied their wands. With a resounding boom followed by an ear-piercing crack, many official-looking people appeared. The Ministry of Magic had arrived. Harry hated to say so, but he was glad they were here. He needed more people to verify what happened today. _And who better than those who were going to try and oppose it in the first place_. Harry thought sarcastically.

"Minister Fudge, we were just about to begin." Dumbledore said cheerfully.

"Dumbledore, what are you...what do you mean with...I mean-."_Damn can't that man make a single sentence in Dumbledore's presence_? _I've seen flustered first years do better_. _Maybe I shouldn't compare him to a first year_.

"Yes, you should not, it is an insult to the first years." Dumbledore said before clasping a hand on his mouth.

"Stay out of my mind you lemon-drop-sucking-lunatic." Harry said glaring at Dumbledore who had the audacity to blush.

Several people looked at the two with unshielded concern. The Minister and the officials looked around at the dome with question. And sure enough they began asking questions.

Harry ignored them and walked over to the dome's barrier. Using SH's gift of magic weaving, he caused the dome to show what was happening outside, like it was before he arrived in it. When he had first arrived he accidentally took of the spell that allowed them in the inside of the dome to see what was happening in the outside. In order for them to fully comprehend what happened.

Outside was SH and he was, put frankly, kicking Death Eater ass.

"He never waits." He said in kind of stage whisper.

Dumbledore launched into the story. Almost immediately some, mainly Ron, and Hermione, were skeptical. Dumbledore with the killing curse...

"I'm sorry, Professor, but it's hard for me to believe any of that rubbish." Hermione said pointing to Harry. "Harry is not one to think of plan before he does something, may I remind you of Sirius." Dumbledore quickly stunned Harry three-times with the strongest Stunning Spells known to man.

"Ms. Granger, I would beg you not to do that again. Mr. Potter could have possibly-." He stopped as Harry began to stand up. He was too shocked to do anything for a moment but when his senses came back to him he shouted:

"MULIO STUPENIO."

A bolt of lightning hit Harry in the chest and threw him back a few feet he finally fell. Dumbledore knew it was only temporary. He turned to Hermione and began to lecture her when Fudge stopped him.

"Dumbledore, don't you see. She and the Weasley boy are jealous. It's the same with Weatherby. When they think they've bested Mr. Potter and he comes back with vengeance." Fudge said causing Ron and Hermione to blush. "Mr. Potter could beat anyone once his puts his head to it. He does great things when he puts his head to it. And he does it without them. That is why they are angry."

"Thanks for sticking up for me, Minister." Heads snapped surprised at Harry staggering trying to regain composure. Dumbledore sighed.

"Mr. Potter could you at least _pretend_ my spells have an effect on you." Suddenly Harry stood straight and walked gracefully.

"I was, didn't you see the limp."

"Yet another thing to add to the 'Supernatural Potter List', eh." Minister Fudge said breathlessly. Harry suddenly collapsed bonelessly. "I guess not." Several Order and Ministry Officials laughed.

"Minister you believe all of this?" Hermione soon laughed. "Look who I'm asking, you couldn't tell the truth if it hit you in the face."

**_SMACK_**.

The sound of flesh hitting flesh bounced off of the dome's barriers. The thought of Ginny Weasley slapping Hermione in the face, causing her head to snap around was forever plastered in the minds of those who witnessed it.

_Harry and SH are going to hate the fact that they missed this_. Dumbledore thought with a shocked expression plastered on his face.

"_I_ hit _you_ Hermione. Do _you_ see the truth now?" Ron was too stunned by his sister's act of violence to do anything. When he returned to his senses he confronted his sister.

"Ginny, what's gotten into you." Ron rushed to Hermione's aid to comfort her. Ginny snarled and lunged at him. Several Ministry officials held her back from beating the shit out of her brother. They really did not want to especially after the vibrant hand-print she left on Hermione's face. Eventually she calmed down somewhat and they let her go, three seconds later no one was around her.

"Ron for once in your miserable, jealous-filled life see with your eyes' and your mind instead of with your dick and pleasures." Several people made noises like 'ooh' and "you tell 'em girl".

"GINEVA MOLLY WEASLEY!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed in shock. She was about to start lecturing Ginny when Ginny rounded on her.

"Oh, don't you dare stick up for him. You knew that that bitch Hermione was controlling his life and clouding his vision since you agreed to allow them to start dating two years ago. I should have told Ron and Harry about what you were going to do to them." Mrs. Weasley turned a fair shade of purple.

"Ginny shut up." Mrs. Weasley said. Ginny shook her head 'no'.

"You filled me and Hermione's heads with that rubbish 'women in control of their men's lives'. You wanted Ron under control because you knew he would warn Harry about that plan of yours." Ginny said stalking towards her mother.

"Ginny you shut your mouth right-." Mrs. Weasley started and pointed her wand at her daughter.

"I won't, you can try to silence my but you can't silence the truth. I know what you did to Ron his fourth year. You filled Ron's head with jealous thoughts about Harry knowing it would put Hermione in the in-between area. You wanted those to together so that Harry would be all-alone. Then you would throw me at him. He would see me as his only confidant and he would be yours to manipulate. But I bet you were mad when Ron and Hermione went back to Harry's side and Hermione started to like him." Mrs. Weasley was blushing like there was no tomorrow.

"I remember you telling Dumbledore to let Harry be alone after the Cedric thing. Dumbledore took your advice and went farther with it thinking the farther away from Harry the more protected everyone was."

"Ginny you-."

"Only me and Sirius saw through it. Because, you know what mom, I told him. I told him so that he could protect Harry from you. But there was nothing we could do. Harry wouldn't believe us. You already let Hermione and Ron get together. I had to sit back and watch you do your dirty work. Oh, you have no idea how overjoyed I felt when Harry started liking Cho. When Christmas came and you approached me and Hermione with that 'women in control of their men's lives' crap. Hermione knew something funny was going on, but no she couldn't believe me. 'Mrs. Weasley would never do that' she said. She began working behind the scenes on Ron."

"Then it came, I knew it was coming. That long speech about how happy I would be with Harry and how cute Harry was and how good we looked together. Oh, how I glowed with happiness, I almost forgot about your plan. Then I heard about Harry and Cho's short relationship, I almost passed out with contentment. Then my mind clasped down on the notion of what I would be getting into. One good thing that came out of me having a Slytherin in my head for a year was looking into pros and cons."

"If I did what you wanted, where would the love be? He would be a mummy under my control. He would have been mine. But would he be truly happy? He would think he was, but would he be. Would I be truly happy? I would be in control of all that is his, but would I be happy? No."

"If I let Harry go and found someone else, he would be happy and I would too, even if it was partial content. And I did what I felt right, I went out with two different guys who, while made me laugh, never made me happy." Ginny stopped here. She smiled a tearful smile at the now, very awoke, Harry.

"Harry saw me unhappy. He was happy with Tonks and I was unhappy. So what did he do, he set me up with a friend of his. He is a great guy. Whilst his public attitude may disgust you, he is a very loving man, mom and I love him." Ginny said to her publicly denounced mother. "Oh but don't worry, I have a firm grip on him." Harry noticed her grabbing Draco's hands tightly. He saw his friend's hand squeeze hers back. "And he has an even firmer grip on me and I like it." Harry cough causing Ginny and the pretending-to-be-asleep Draco to let go of each other's hands.

"Ginny one thing you never ever do, is talk about your sex-life in front of your headmaster and Minister of Magic." Harry shook his head and Ginny blushed a perfect burgundy color as she saw the faces around her.

"Go on Harry ruin my rant." Ginny pouted. She looked upon her mother's face and hers dropped.

"You will tell everyone that what you said was a lie." Her mother said through clenched teeth. Ginny stood confidently.

"I will not. I don't care how you treat me when, IF, we get home. But I refuse to listen to your and Hermione's nonsense about Harry lying. I, like I always have, will go by what I know." She bounded over to Hermione and forcibly turned her head towards the now transparent barrier.

"If you don't believe me, Harry, and Dumbledore, look out the dome's barrier and tell me we were lying."

Heads turned and mouths dropped_for the hundredth time today_as the once golden-hued wall was now transparent allowing them to see the one-sided battle raging. And there were at least one hundred Death Eaters. But that was not what made their mouths drop to their knees, it was the fact that there was _one_ person fighting the Death Eaters. And that man was winning by a long shot. Death Eaters were being flung and killed left and right.

One Death Eater was flung into the dome's barrier. He began to slide down slowly, when suddenly he was catapulted right back at the man. The man sent out a spell and the Death Eater exploded before he reached the man. Several people turned green. Harry began laughing uproariously.

"I never thought that physical defense ward would work. I bet SH did that to test the wards." Harry said shaking his head.

"Death Eater... exploding." Minister Fudge murmured before he fainted. Sadly no one caught him and Ginny was made to heal the bump growing on the side of his head.

The scene was _barbaric_. The man stunned a Death Eater and instead of doing something horrid with him or her, he brought the Death Eater closer to the dome. He put a few shielding charms around him and the Death Eater. Soon he conjured of a magical brick wall to stop and Unforgivables from getting in. As he neared everyone received a closer detailed image of the man. He looked like the carbon copy of Harry!

"Bloody Hell!" Ron exclaimed so loud that Harry was sure that those outside the dome heard him as well, despite the hundreds of magic wards separating them.

"Ron don't get your hopes up, it could be a illusion." Hermione said softly.

"That is the smartest thing I've heard from you yet, Granger." Harry said. "But please be quiet I want to hear. Which reminds me, Dumbledore sound please." Harry said before conjuring a few pool chairs._ I hate standing for too long_.

_You're not the only one._ Harry heard Dumbledore say as Dumbledore was tampering with the wards.

**You're not the only one, what?** SH asked.

Dumbledore was telling me I wasn't the only one who didn't like standing up too long.

**Really, I don't mind the exercise. You really are getting lazy Harry. Maybe you should take up exercise. People shouldn't be able to tell apart because one of us is ripped and the other is scrimpy-looking.** He shut off the connection before Harry could say something.

"You know, I really do need to start exercising." Harry said to Dumbledore, who had come back from letting sound infiltrate to dome. Dumbledore chuckled and adjust his chair with his wand before easing down into it with a relaxing sigh.

"You make it sound like you've been doing something Dumbledore. You weren't the one who had to fight off four strong stunning spells."

"Thus says the sixteen year-old. You weren't the one who had to cast those strong stunning spells and another thing; I'm one hundred and forty-three. Give me a break." Dumbledore said with a smirk.

"I could give you 'a break' just by shaking your hand." Harry laughed. He and Dumbledore began to argue back and forth till Ginny yelled:

"Shut it you two, I'm trying to listen." She said as she subconsciously let go of the half-healed Minister of Magic, causing him to once more hit his head.

"Yes Ginny." They said at the same time before shared a brief look of mirth and looked through the dome's walls to the scene on the outside.

"I know you can be saved, meaning you're not all dark, therefore I won't kill you." SH said, his voice much like Harry's only with a slight, but unmistakable, hissing.

"H-how do you know that." The Death Eater asked. He sounded like a kid fresh out of school. He did not sound that mush older than SH and Harry.

"I was _given_ the _gift_ of seeing the good and bad in people, in exchange for my power of Magical Weaving." He sighed. "My job is to destroy those who can't be saved and saved those who can be." SH said standing tall and handsome, he twirled his wand between his fingers.

"So I'm in the 'can be saved' compartment?" The young Death Eater asked. SH nodded stiffly. The juvenile Death Eater visibly relaxed.

"Oh don't look so content." SH said shortly. "Whilst Harry told me not to kill you, he didn't say I couldn't have...fun." SH pointed his wand at the now frightened young Death Eater.

"Oh dear Merlin! He wouldn't dare... He knows that there are Ministry officials here. He wouldn't dare do anything illegal." Harry mumbled to himself. SH looked at the dome piercingly, but in a manner that would not give off the notion that there was something there.

"Since I'm not a resident of this country, or any other for that fact, I am not under their jurisdiction. I don't have to follow laws others have to obey. This means I can torture you to the brink of insanity for as long as I please, and as long as I don't cause you to go insane or kill you, I don't have to answer to Harry." SH said with a maniacal grin on his face. "Now the only problem I face is what to do to you." Even with their shut-off connection and the distance betwixt them, Harry clearly saw the gleam of lust in SH's eyes. He understood it immediately.

"Well, I'll be damned." Harry said in a strangled sort of voice. But after a few seconds of thinking he decided to wait and observe if SH shows any other signs of public emotions.

"What's wrong?" Dumbledore asked. Harry immediately cut off their connection.

Thinking quickly, Harry said, "Nothing, it's just that there are so many spells he could use." Dumbledore was satisfied as far as the eye could see. Harry knew if he opened their connection, Dumbledore would be mentally begging for information. He waited a moment before opening up the connection.

I will tell you about it when I'm definitely sure of it myself. Don't want to make any false accusations. He is not one to take false allegations in a refined way. Harry sent to Dumbledore.

"Now my problem is whether or not I should use old dark magic _or_ a very nasty spell of my creation." SH said to the young Death Eater who was trying to put as much distance between himself and SH. "You see, the spell I created is based and established upon some well-known spells I've researched." SH paused as if to think about something, Harry knew he was just trying to beat around the bush to cause the young Death Eater's nerves to break. "You know what," He said after a few minutes, "I will use the spell I created. It has a more traumatizing effect on the victim, or at least I hope so, because you know it's never been tested before. Would you like to be my tester?" SH said _knowing damn that the young Death Eater didn't have any choice in the matter._

"I-I thought you weren't allowed to make me go insane. But what if the spell does?" The young Death Eater said trying to keep his voice from shaking.

"Then we will test it out. I'm sure that Harry will agree will my _experiment_." SH said with entirely too much certainty. But Harry was the only one who saw the sarcasm behind the words. And he didn't like it one bit.

"And what if I refuse to take part in this?" The young Death Eater said courageously.

"You have to hand it to that guy, he's got some guts." Harry said in a proud way. "Too bad," He added shaking his head, "he might not have those guts for long." Dumbledore turned a slight discolored shade of green.

"So how many people have you killed?" SH asked stiffly. Harry could almost see the apprehension in his eyes.

That poor boy. Harry exclaimed mentally.

_The juvenile Death Eater or SH?_ Dumbledore asked looking at Harry physically.

The one with the extensive knowledge of the Dark Arts.

Dumbledore's face made the sigh of a small 'oh'. He turned to look at the quiet speechless young Death Eater.

_That can be either._

Then you will just have to wait for an answer. Since I'm beginning to have second thoughts on whether the one I think is helpless is really as helpless as he seems. Harry did not have to look this time to see the 'aha' expression cross Dumbledore's face.

"What if I don't want to answer?" The young Death Eater added. SH's face flashed with anger.

"Okay, now I'm worried about the young Death Eater." Harry said as he stood up. His chair disappeared immediately. But he did not realize this since his eyes were glued onto the scene outside the dome.

"I will put you under an enchantment that will make you feel pain that rivals the Crucio curse, every two minutes." SH droned almost lazily with slight hiss at the end stronger than before.

"I-I can overthrow the Crucio curse," the young Death Eater said defiantly, "so I don't know how it feels." Instead of being mad, like any other torturer would, SH smiled a wholehearted smile and laughed.

"I'm glad to be the one to show you then."

"I k-know the curse is just an illusion to make you think your body is under a painful attack. I know that the pain isn't real." SH's facade never faltered.

"Well, I'm happy to be the one to show you _real_ pain." SH said. He leveled his wand with the young Death Eater's... family jewels. The young Death Eater's and Harry's eyes bulged out of his head. The young Death Eater's hands immediately went to cover his parts. SH's bright smile went brighter.

"No, no, no, no, no, remember 'the pain isn't real'. So, if something just happened to disappear, it's 'just an illusion'." SH said mocking the young Death Eater's words.

_What is it with him and his mocking other people's words?_ Dumbledore asked rhetorically.

"A-alright. One." The young Death Eater said.

"One what?" SH asked for clarification.

"I've killed one person." Sadness was admissible on his face. Harry was sure that he saw SH shaking.

"Really, who?" SH said his voice and octave higher than normal. The young Death Eater seemed too ashamed to speak.

"A muggle?" SH asked for the young Death Eater.

"Yes, it was a muggle," SH's wand began to glow with a purplish hue. The young Death Eater began speaking desperately, "but I had to. The Dark Lord would have killed my mother and baby brother. And then my father would have killed me." The young Death Eater was on his knees now crying tearfully.

"Be that as it may. You killed someone as innocent and defenseless as a mou-rabbit," he was careful as to not say 'mouse', as Harry was still sensitive about the Wormtail thing, "as you must pay the price." SH paused and looked at the young Death Eater before his stolidly. " Like I said before, I will use the spell I created." SH began studying the young Death Eater. Harry studied SH. Dumbledore studied everyone.

"My spell is most painful. It's...skin-peeling painful." Harry gasped and ran over to the only part of the barrier that was shimmering. It was where both he and Dumbledore had preformed their changes in the dome.

"What are you doing?" Dumbledore asked jumping up and rushing to his side.

"I have to go save that poor soul before SH does something I won't like." His hands radiated a golden tone as it touched the shimmering wall.

"Why is SH doing all the work anyway?" Ginny asked. Without turning away from the wall Harry answered.

"I made him. I'm much too weak after that damn exorcist ritual. Besides all of the magic I'm having to do isn't helping me. And I'm relying on SH magic and strength most of the time, or at least when my strength and magic fails me."

"How, I thought only Dumbledore could allow entrance and exits?" She asked approaching Tonks and Draco.

"I have SH's ability of Magic Weaver. I can bend, twist and mold, and manipulate magic to my will and wake. All I have to do is disable the wards by bending the strands of magic in the barrier. But I have to do it quickly. That spell SH made is..." He did not finish his statement. He closed his eye in concentration and reach out to feel and change the position the strands of magic allowing him out.

"My spell," they focused back on SH, "is a good combination of other torturing spells. Let's see. There's the... you know what, let me just tell you what _will_ happen. First, your skin will burn off." There were gasps from inside the dome. "Actually, it will be melted, rather painfully, off your _whole_ body. Your clothes will burn with it. There will be acid flowing your veins so, naturally, you feel pain And the pain is very authentic. Then, well, I saw a problem. I didn't want you to die off overexposure or bleeding to death, I mean the fact that your going to be skinless brought up many health problems that could vary in magnitude from scum to scum. And didn't want Harry to kill me but I expected the spell not to kill scum and it did." He said using the word 'scum' with such passion that it was punctuated with a hiss.

"YOU'RE DAMN RIGHT I WOULD KILL _YOU_!" Harry yelled into the dome's barrier.

"So, I put in a few spells that would prolong your sanity and suffering," SH continued happily, "and some to prevent the health problems induced by overexposure. But you know what the best part is?" SH asked the now lucid young Death Eater who shock his head, he was far too frightened for words or to do anything other than shake his head. "The best part of it all is that your skin will grow back, magically of course." A green spell erupted from SH's wand but when it eloped the young Death Eater, it changed from green to a greenish-yellow hue.

"I found," SH continued as if unaware of what was happening, "an agonizing medieval remedy that grows skin back through an _long_ process. It creates and doubles the skin layer, giving the body an extra shield of protection. Medics stopped using it when more and more people losing their wits because of the extraordinary pain. 'What's the point of getting better skin, when you go insane', they said. They soon banned further usage of the spell. But they didn't specifically ban me from using it in the different way."

"I figured the fact that the skin grows back strong and with a double layer, that that would double the pain, increasing the forthcoming of insanity But you don't have to worry about going insane, the anti-insanity spells I added works here as well."

"And you know what the most exceptional thing is?" He asked but continued before the young Death Eater could answer SH continued. "The spell restarts three minutes after the skin growing spell is completed." The greenish-yellow hue on the young Death Eater disappeared. SH dissipated the spells around him and the young Death Eater. SH turned to glare at the young Death Eater, "Have fun, I know I did." SH rushed back into battle with the other, unsuspected and surprised, Death Eaters as the same time when the young Death Eater outside the dome began convulsing and gave an ear-piercing scream.

No one inside the dome dared to look at the young desolate Death Eater, _fearing the sight that they would see_! Instead they focused on Harry, who was at the moment, mumbling things to himself. Things like, "that poor boy", and "what was I thinking leaving that bloodthirsty monkey in charge". He seemed to be, and was getting nowhere. No one could help him out though. But no one knew how to disable the dome. Only Harry and SH and possibly Dumbledore knew of the dome's magic.

"Harry, maybe you should just apparate out?" Dumbledore suggested.

"It's too long a process. By the time I get out there, that _spell_ will be on it's seventh cycle. That poor boy." He said as the area at the dome that he was tampering with flash and changed from gold to white. "SHIT!" The sound of the young Death Eater's screams disappeared as the sound barrier went back up.

"He's a Death Eater. He deserves what he was getting." Ron said angrily. His face was twisted up with maliciousness.

"Death Eater or not no one deserves to be tortured, Ron." Harry said as the wards flashing again.

"SO you are saying that what he did was morally right?" Hermione said her face matching Ron's.

"If you had been in his unfortunate shoes. Wouldn't you have done the same?" Harry asked moving his hands in a complicated gesticulation as they heard the young Death Eater screaming once more.

"I...well..." Ron stuttered at the unsuspected question.

"Exactly as I thought." Harry said still not turning his eyes away from the dome barrier.

"That still doesn't make it right, Harry." Dumbledore said stiffly. Hermione spoke, as though Dumbledore's statement gave her encouragement.

"He could have let the muggle live even if his mother was going to die. What's the point of killing an innocent victim if the other victim can fight." Hermione said. A second later Harry's head snapped around and his glowing eyes focused on her.

"Firstly, _Granger_," Harry said with as much malice as he could, "you are forgetting the fact the Death Eater had to make a hard decision. It was, either, his mother, his _baby brother_, and his life at stake or one person. Voldemort, he must have known, HE would kill off the muggle anyway, sadly. The point of taking one life and protecting, to the best of his ability, three was a choice of a lifetime. It's," Harry said looking at Dumbledore whilst still maintaining his hand movements, "sacrifice. And sacrifice is one of the complications of war. And if you haven't noticed, _Granger_, _we_ are at war. One of the darkest kinds, if I can so blunt as to say that I really don't expect most to perceive the idea of sacrifice, since most have never had to go through it."

"But...but-." Hermione started.

"Give it up Hermione, Harry is right." Ron said with a smile.

"No I won't. It's not right to kill."

"Thus says the girl who has never learned that in war it's kill or be killed." Ginny said plopping down onto Dumbledore's pool chair. "Even with her supposed Ravenclaw knowledge."

"Ginny's right besides, with the Death Eater, had he not killed the man, he would have been sentencing two, maybe three innocent people to death. Besides," Remus added, "who knows what Voldemort would have done to the man. It's better to take his life swiftly than to allow Voldemort unprecedented control for torturing him."

"Which goes back to the fact that torturing _this_ guy is bad. Which I shall be sure to _talk_ with SH about." Harry said going back to the wards. "Anyway, like I said most have never been through sacrificial loses."

"Neither have you and I can't believe that you're condoning this when you've just lost someone you love. Imagine what the muggle family is going through right now. How scared they are." Hermione said exasperatedly.

"I'm so sorry to burst you're immaculate bubble but I have gone through sacrificial loses. And while people are not dying for me, they are dying because of me. They are dying for a cause in which the cause's problem I could end. I find it hypocritical for me to say this but likewise to my earlier statements, I find that the man did a considerably honorable thing. He died for others to survive, even if he did so unintentionally. I believe that it was a deed worth doing. It was better than dying as a trophy for some madman to boast over."

"It's not right to kill no matter how mush you sugarcoat it." Hermione with a 'this conversation is over' tone. Too bad for her Harry was not finished yet. _I've been around SH too long!_

"Hermione, could I ask you a question?" He said before continuing without her saying he could.

"Thanks. If it were I against Voldemort, which it definitely will be in the end, which would you prefer: would you prefer him killing me or me killing him?"

"WHY WOULD YOU ASK SUCH A QUESTION?" She yelled over the screaming the young Death Eater made as he went into his second cycle.

"JUST ANSWER THE QUESTION!" Harry yelled back not turning away from the dome's barrier. The screaming outside the dome was lessened considerably and they could talk properly now.

"I would _prefer_ you to destroy him." She said haughtily as if she thought Voldemort was way out of his league.

"Not destroy, Hermione, kill. If indeed I were to _kill_ Voldemort, should I have to suffer the same as that guy?" Harry asked as sly as a snake.

"That is total different. Voldemort is not defenseless."

"But I would still be killing someone." Harry said as if he was trying to convince himself. "And according to you it's the same both ways as long as someone is killed. According to your philosophy, no matter what the situation is if a person dies then the one responsible for it should be tortured."

"You're turning my words around." Hermione shrieked.

"As I told Mrs. Weasley, 'Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks'. You've got Ravenclaw wits. I don't have to explain what that means." Hermione opened her mouth to speak. "You know we could talk about this for days, but frankly speaking I have someone to save. And I need to concentrate." Harry said closing his eyes and trying to drown out the young Death Eater's hoarse cries as the young Death Eater went through his third cycle.

Ginny immediately began preparing for a third person to care for. Afterwards, she went back to treating Tonks and Malfoy. Hermione stared at Harry's sullenly. He ended the argument right as she was winning. Ron was staring at the treatment Ginny was applying when he realized something for the first time.

"What is Malfoy doing in here?" He said approaching Ginny. "Throw him out with the rest of the Death Eater trash, for that SH to destroy." Ginny pointed her wand at her brother.

"Don't you dare touch or even come near my patient. Harry bought him here for a reason." Ron wheeled and turned to Harry, who was showing signs of succeeding in tampering with the wands.

" 'Good reason', what 'good reason' would Harry have to bring Malfoy in here?"

"Draco's cool," Harry said nonchalantly, Ron's mouth dropped.

" 'Draco' since when has he been called 'Draco'?" Ron asked approaching Harry's unprotected back.

"Since he became my most trusted advisory and spy in Voldemort's rank," Both the Ministry and Order gaped at Harry's back. "Oh and since I set him and Ginny up together."

"WWHHWHAT!" Ron yelled.

"THERE!" Harry shouted as the dome flashed and he was pulled a small, and rapidly closing, passageway.

Ron made to run threw the opening as well but it closed up and apparently the physical defense ward worked on the inside to because he was picked off his feet and thrown back where he started. Ginny began laughing uproariously at him.

"He never stops trying to imitate and intimidate Harry to please Hermione, does he my little Dragon." She said in a soft voice to Draco.

"Don't call me that, it scares me." A small and scarcely recognized voice said from one of the three stretchers. Ron made towards them.

"Take another step Ron and I will make Hermione a very unhappy girl." She said pointing her wand at Ron's nether regions. He paused and paled a very lucid color. Ginny laughed until she was shushed as Harry relieved the young Death Eater of the curse SH placed on him.

"You-you're Harry Potter. Please don't hurt me." The naked young Death Eater said as Harry approached him.

"Yes, I'm Harry Potter. The one who hurt you wasn't. I remember you from Hogwarts. You were on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team weren't you?" Harry said taking off his cloak.

"Yes I-I was." The young Death Eater said. " 'name's J-Joshua Holmes." He said shivering.

"Here's my cloak. I'm sorry about SH. He overacts when he get feelings."

"I bet he has never hated anyone more than me." The chocolate-haired said the guy as Harry sat down beside him and patted him on the shoulder.

"He doesn't hate you...He likes you, a lot." The guy's head snapped towards him, he was shaking his head as if someone had just given him the shock of his life.

"He...I...but you're not...and he's not."

"I'm not, but he's is. We are like complete opposites. He hates my friends; I hate the way he thinks. See we're complete opposites. Besides if he didn't like you, you would receiving worse treatment."

"Really," Joshua said hoarsely, "I can't believe torture could get worser." Harry smiled warmly.

"Oh it gets worser. You should see the spell _I_ created." The guy looked at him with wide eyes.

"Well, let's not lounge around. _You_ need medical care for your immune system." Harry stood up and touched the dome barrier behind him.

"But I thought the other one-." Harry interrupted.

"SH."

"-SH, I thought he said I wouldn't get sick."

"He said that to assure you that he wasn't going to let you get sick. Just between you and I," Harry said as the barrier opened and let him in, "SH isn't the best of medics." He pulled the guy through the barrier. Immediately, Harry began bark orders.

"Dumbledore take him to Ginny. Draco! Get off your ass and conjure this fellow up some clothes. When I get my hands on SH! Ginny, do a quick scan of his medical condition, but only a quick one. He might go into shock. Draco help with Tonks you might be able to tell Ginny a thing or two about Medics." He paused to take a

quick breath as everyone rushed to do as he said. After a second he started up again. "Mrs. Weasley conjure up some stretchers. Dumbledore expand the dome to about a kilometer in circumference. Mrs. Weasley for every Death Eater I bring, conjure up two more stretchers, see how far you can push your skills. It would be lovely if you help Ginny and Draco with the healing as well, Mrs. Weasley." Harry banished all of the chairs and turned to Remus.

"I want you to help Dumbledore and someone else in bringing in the Death Eaters. And do it gingerly; be gentle and cautious, they might not trust you." Harry flew from the dome as Dumbledore yelled to him.

"Harry, you're going to need backup!"

"First I want to get all of the savable ones safe and then..." Harry yelled back as the opening in the dome closed. Dumbledore began expanding the dome.

* * *

Unknown POV

* * *

Inside the dome, everyone was in tumult. Those who were told to do things were doing them with haste; those who were not told to do something were trying to help the others. No one was lounging or sitting other than the two on stretchers. Mrs. Weasley was about to administer a potion to Tonks when Draco stopped her. 

"That's not a good potion to be giving her." He said kindly yet forcibly. Ron was instantly there ready for action and a chance to fight Draco.

"I know what is good for her, I was a Healer," she said with a role of her eyes as she prepared to give the potion. Draco snatched it out of her hand. "What are you doing, she needs that."

"But she can't have it, it's not good for women who are expecting." The bustle that was in the dome stopped. Dumbledore approached Draco for the first time.

"Mr. Malfoy, she can't be," He said.

"She is, Harry and SH just don't know yet. She was going to tell Harry today." Ginny stopped what she was doing, threw her head back and laughed.

"This is like one big soap-opera." She said before everyone looked to her for clarification. "Muggle phrase."

As tasks were being finished up, everyone began throwing looks outside the large dome. The battle seemed to be no problem for the two wizards. SH was throwing spells like he was breathing them. He did not give most of the Death Eater's he faced a chance before they dropped to the ground or were flung around, along with other things. The spells he was using were beyond questionable and were very dark. He did not linger on torturing spells like the Crucio Curse. All in all, he seemed to be enjoying it. Though he seemed to be tiring as well. But nevertheless, he was making quite a dent in the Dark Forces.

Harry, who had left a communicating spell in the wards, seemed to be doing the exact same thing as SH. Instead he was summoning to him the Death Eaters who SH had stunned. Everyone guessed it was a sign that showed Harry which ones were 'savable'. Every time he summoned five or six, he would run back to the dome and leave them there for Remus and, after much arguing, Ron to take into the dome for medical attention.

Some wondered, still, why he was saving Death Eaters. Harry told them through the communication ward that the Death Eaters they were fighting now were most likely to be low-ranking Death Eaters. Joshua confirmed it but asked how Harry knew.

"One, because of the their ages. I've seen most of those kids in school last year. They should be given a second chance at life." Ron snorted. "And because of the sheer simplicity of the Death Eater's fighting styles."

He told them that SH was getting bored not tired, and was waiting for the better and higher-ranking Death Eaters to appear. They seemed to have disappeared in the beginning of the battle. Harry suspected that they and Voldemort went for some backup.

Soon afterwards, Harry came back to the dome empty-handed. He spoke into the communication spell.

"Make sure to keep the Aurors on guard just in case of an 'accident'." The Minister nodded to Dawlish, the Second-in-command Head Auror; the Aurors dispersed themselves amongst the stretchers. Kingsley was Head and was with the Order, Fudge needed someone he could trust in charge. Those Aurors in the Order helped as well. Afterwards Harry wasted no time before leaving again. Whilst the Aurors were watching the Death Eaters, everyone else continued to either work or looked outside the dome. Harry was too far for them to see. Dumbledore got an idea.

Dumbledore rushed over to the dome touched it as Harry had done. The hum of the moving magic was wonderful. Dumbledore willed himself to see what Harry was seeing at the moment through the telepathic connection. He saw the area that Harry was in but did not see it through Harry's eyes.

Dumbledore. Is that you? Everyone in the dome was shocked to hear Harry's voice.

_Yes it is I. I'm broadcasting the battle to everyone in the dome._ Dumbledore said to SH.

Tell Ginny to take care up _my_ Tonks. Harry voiced into the connection.

**The same for my Joshua**. Joshua blushed.

Aw, he blushed. Joshua went redder.

**Harry, focus. Voldemort is back.** **Do you see anyone with a white flame?** SH asked.

Nope. I guess it's my time to shine. How do you want me to appear?

**No more horsing around. Let's kill 'em and get it over with! **SH said coldly.

Sure thing Slytherin. Harry said in the same voice.

**Shut up Gryffinwhore.** SH laughed. Draco did as well but a well-placed smack from Ginny shut him up.

Hey!

_Can't you two argue later?_ Dumbledore asked politely.

**SHUT UP!** Both shouted at the same time.

Wait till I get over there! Harry said with a mental growl.

**What are you going to do to me? Are you going to make some flowers bite me?** SH asked sarcastically.

_Harry, I must tell you-._

Not now Dumbledore, I got a snake to terminate. Harry said as they watched him part the Death Eaters like the Red Sea.

_Harry, It's something Mr. Malfoy said. I was wondering if you knew-._

Yes, I knew that Draco proposed to Ginny. Harry said sending curses so quickly that he was fighting seven Death Eaters at once and winning.

_Not that, though that is news to me. I was wondering if you knew that Nymphadora was pregnant?_

Harry stopped. He put up a shield and nearly fainted.

WHAT?

_Mr. Malfoy told of she was expecting._

_Thisss wasss interesting newsss Dumbledore, thanksss for sssharing_. An arctic-cold, snakelike voice sounded throughout the dome.

_**Voldemort!**_ Harry, SH, and Dumbledore gasped at the same time. The answer they received was a snakelike laugh that vibrated throughout the dome causing the hairs on the backs of everyone's neck to stand straight.

* * *

_**Author Note: **Wow! That was one hell of chapter. And for the record, I just wanted to say that SH was the part of the essence of Voldemort that was transferred in over to Harry that sad Halloween. Harry released the essence that grew with him over the years and created for the essence a vessel to reside temporarily in before he was brought back into Harry's mind. So they are like parts if one being in two separate vessels. And for futuristic reference, it might not be temporary separation._

_Also, I need help. I have the Weasleys' reaction to Draco, should I put it in the next chapter? _

_**Review!**_


	5. The Meeting Part 3

**_Friendship_**

**_The Meeting (Part 3)  
_**

_**Friendships are made at the strangest time and with the strangest people and things. Harry/Tonks. Harry finds out some things about himself, and Tonks learns more about Harry**_**_. Post OoTP_**

* * *

**SH-telepathy**

Harry-telepathy

_Dumbledore-telepathy_

* * *

_... I was wondering if you knew that Nymphadora was pregnant?_

Harry stopped. He put up a shield and nearly fainted.

WHAT?

_Mr. Malfoy told of she was expecting._

_Thisss wasss interesting newsss Dumbledore, thanksss for sssharing_. An arctic-cold, snakelike voice sounded throughout the dome.

_**Voldemort!**_ Harry, SH, and Dumbledore gasped at the same time. The answer they received was a snakelike laugh that vibrated throughout the dome causing the hairs on the backs of everyone's neck to stand straight.

* * *

It was some time before everyone settled from the shock of hearing Voldemort in person. Ginny was shaking and paled to the point of her freckles looking like an array of red polka dots. Minister 

Fudge along with many others had fainted, unnoticed. Draco immediately held the convulsing Ginny to his chest. Ron, sadly, noticed the motion. Ron was too scared from hearing Voldemort to care, at the moment.

Dumbledore along with those who had faced Death Eaters before remained somewhat intact.

_Ssso Potter. You're telepathic, and about to die and leave a brat to the ssscorn of the Blacksss. How do you feel?_Voldemort sounded part insane, and part muggle game-show host.

There was no reply from Harry or SH. The Order was beginning to worry, as Harry was not seen through Dumbledore's connection.

_He must have turned off the link_, Dumbledore thought. His mind raced with concern for the wizarding world's last hope.

_'Lassst hope' eh. Potter'sss a coward. And after I kill him, hisss Frankenssstein, and hisss brat, I will have finally killed off the Pottersss. It might have taken almossst twenty yearsss, but it was worth the time. SSSnape, I guesss thisss isss your lucky day, you get to witnesss sssomething you've wanted for yearsss: the annihilation of the Pottersss. I plan to kill you too today, but I'll give you the pleasssure of ssseeing the end of the Pottersss firssst._ Snape, who was guarding the young Death Eater and making sure no one _accidentally_ crossed into his territory and harmed his charges, glanced around the dome checking for any surveillance indicators.

"It's the magic in one of the spells that made the dome, the whole dome is spying on us." Draco said, thoughtfully.

_Oh, don't look ssso nervousss. I've ssssussspected you from my rebirth. I love the fact thisss connection allowsss me to sssee everything you sssee Dumbledore. If he can see me. . . Dumbledore's brow creased up with concentration. No, no, no! Don't think for a sssecond that I'm going to let you Apparite away, you Potter deviation._ Voldemort said with a burst of anger.

**Oh, I wasn't trying to escape. I was making sure Dumbledore had a clear opportunity of finding your hypocritical-ass. **SH said calmly.

_WHAT!_

_Got it!_ Dumbledore mentally yelled. _All I needed was a small contribution of emotion on Tom's part._

The scene on the dome changed, before all of them was Voldemort. His tall structure and his deformed face sent chills through everyone in the dome, except Dumbledore. Even though he was not there physically, everyone clutched his or her wand more tightly than before. They saw Voldemort's deformed snakelike face crease up in concern after being found so quickly.

**Gotcha!** SH yelled into the connection.

The dome's image changed again. In this scene they saw SH ripping through the crowd in the direction in which Voldemort had made his command center. With the dome's perspective alternating between SH and Voldemort, they saw Voldemort shimmer momentarily out of sight then pop suddenly back into view.

**Oh no, no, no! You're not going anywhere snake-face. Nowhere but down and I will see that it happens.**

The more experienced Death Eaters had arrived, and posed a slightly challenge to SH. Curses flew from his wand and at the Death Eater s with unimaginable speed. He never stayed still. He moved continuously, using the Death Eaters' own anger and frustration against them. Spells, that were meant to hit him or slow him down, hit other Death Eaters causing and fueling the Death Eaters confusion. Fueled by his rage and the thoughts of seeking revenge on Voldemort, SH turned into an animal. He cast spell after spell, and never staying in one place, letting spells meant for him hit other Death Eaters was leaving a reasonable dent in the Dark Masses. This lasted for minutes on end in which he began tuning down his spells.

He started using spells taught at a school-curriculum. His movements, though he was constantly moving, were more precise and held less wildness. To those in the dome, either he was tiring out or he had something up his sleeve.

Death Eaters also tuned down their spells to a less lethal, though still harmful, level. They realized one of SH's intentions was for them to destroy each other with spells aimed at SH. He was going to let the Death Eaters do the dirty work themselves. Death Eaters began using their own strategy: use only deflectable spells and deflect any spells towards SH before sending more.

The stratagem was effective as SH was hit with several spells before he even reached the halfway point to Voldemort's fortification. Realizing he could not keep up with his strategy much longer, he threw up a spell similar to the one he and Dumbledore placed around the Order. A bluish dome appeared around him.

It was a simple tacit. The spells that were sent at the dome would increase the dome's power, then they would rebound upon their casters with even greater force. Whether or not the Death Eaters deflected their spells were their business. They could either dodge and let someone else get hit, or they could deflect their spells back at the dome and have it return with more power than before. Either way, someone was going to get hit.

Those in the dome saw SH struggling and were itching to get out there and help him. The Aurors reapplied stunners to those Death Eaters Harry had brought in earlier and encircled them. Ginny was, with amazing speed and coordination, nursing Draco who had lain exhaustedly on a stretcher, the young Death Eater, and Tonks as best as she could. She paused as she saw SH struggling, she slipped a stray piece of hair behind her ear. She turned to Dumbledore.

"Could you get closer to SH?" Dumbledore gave a sharp nod and did so, he had been watching the battle pensively.

The dome showed SH trying to heal his wounds rather hurriedly. Ginny quickly asked for a report of his injuries, using Dumbledore's connection to her advantage.

"Um. . . Broken ankle. Twisted wrist, and I think the guy was going for my neck." He gave a laugh. "A chest wound and a knife to the stomach." He said as if his injuries were not important. Spells were still hitting the dome causing it to zoom with power.

Ginny was aghast with his injuries and immediately requested that he returned to the dome to be healed, properly.

"It's time I took the Blood-Replenishing potion Harry gave me, I fixed the ankle and I'm working on the wrist. I can take care of myself." He said stubbornly.

Ginny obviously did not believe him. "What about the knife in the stomach and the chest wound?" Ginny asked. He gave a sigh and continued to heal his wrist whilst he replied.

"I plan to use that medieval spell for skin-growing since the stab wounds are large." He said nonchalantly. He flicked his wrist and cringed. "Maybe, I'll leave one wrist along. If Harry can work with one hand and wand on a day-to-day basis, so can I, not that he had any choice in the matter." He stowed one wand and began working on his chest and stomach with his other.

Ginny stared at the gaping hole in his chest, which he started on first. "You need to get here. Please!"

"Look, I'm cool. Just butt **out**!" He gave a small yell from the pain.

"Now, you listen to me, you-." A low moan stopped her mid-rant. She rushed from the dome's barriers to her patients.

Tonks was waking up. She immediately rolled over and threw up on the stretcher that Draco had just hurriedly evacuated. Ginny quickly cleaned and disinfected the stretcher before she approached Tonks. The tip of her wand lit up and she held her wand over Tonks' face. She slowly drew the wand repeatedly over Tonks' eyes. Ginny gave a snort of improvement."Where am I?" Ginny began checking her over.

"You're safe." One thing she was taught, was never to worry the patient unless the prognosis was fifty percent fatal or more. But going against her training to interrogate a patient, she asked what had happened to Tonks.

Tonks lay back with a groan. She looked around and gave a cry when she laid eyes on Draco. He was taken aback by reactions. A look of understanding flashed across his face followed by a scowl. Tonks rose again while shaking and moving back, putting as much distance between her and Draco. "H-he tricked me, he was the one-."

Wands were instantaneously pointed at Draco. Ron was in the middle of a curse, his wand tip a reddish color. He looked at Draco with a smug look on his face. Draco eyed the wand with great composure and indifference.

Ginny gave a quick nervous laugh. "He did no such thing."

Ron looked at her angrily. "Of course the little scarlet would defend her boy-friend over her family." A spell erupted from the outstretched wand.

Just as the spell neared Draco, another spell hit it and made it veer off course and it hit ground. Ginny jumped in front of Draco and threw a curse at Ron. He let out a horse-like neigh. Ass ears grew over his own. Every time he tried to speak and/or counter-curse, he ended up neighing.

Ginny looked at him in disgust. "I believe it is time you showed your true form. You're an ass. Harry should have never become your friend. You traitorous asshole." She turned to look at Tonks, who was still glaring at Draco from the stretcher. "It was not Draco who attacked you."

Tonks exploded, theoretically. "You weren't there. He took me to a store he said Harry was waiting for me." Draco looked up suddenly. He was surprised.

"_Harry_ told _us_ to meet him there. When we got there I was knocked out too. Besides," He turned his head showing off a patch of roughly cut hair. Ginny coughed slightly, hiding her laugh. "Whoever needed my hair for the Polyjuice potion did a great job on my hair. But seeing him with those ears had made up for it." He looked at Ron with a smug smile.

"But-." Tonks said still unsure.

"He's telling the truth." Ginny said with conviction.

Mrs. Weasley turned away from helping Ron to glare at her daughter. "Quit defending him, Ginny!"

"I will defend him _till I die_," Ginny said strongly. She grabbed Draco's hand. Mrs. Weasley gasped at the implications of what Ginny said and remembering what Harry said about Draco proposing to Ginny. Everyone either turned away or watched with rapt attention."Wait till your father hears of this!"

"I don't care! I will love him and will marry him when I'm sixteen!" She said looking her mother straight in the eye. Ignoring the looks her brothers were giving him, Draco spoke nervously.

"You and my mother have been speaking to each other?" He sounded as though he already knew the answer.

"Yes my '_little dragon_'." Draco winced at the second mentioning of his obvious pet name. "She had already planned out nuptials, our ceremony, party, processional, honeymoon, and our-," Ginny wrinkled her nose, "-_conception_." Draco went red from embarrassment. "Something about needing a male heir and that boys are conceived at certain times."

"She's been planning since I was eight." Draco murmured causing some of the others in the dome to laugh, those who were aware of the pureblood traditions.

"You don't say!" Ginny exclaimed in pure sarcasm.

"And when were you planning to tell your mother?" Mrs. Weasley said to Ginny, she sounded a little hurt.

"I was planning for the day I packed my things, but now is as good a time as any." She looked to Fred, George, and Charlie who were dead stunned on their feet. "What do you guys think?"

"Ginny! We would never-." One twin started.

"-Do or say anything-." The other said holding up a hand to halt any of Ginny's comments.

"-Against your orders, Madam Malfoy." They finished in unison with somewhat satisfied looks on their faces.

Charlie mirrored that look. "If Harry said he's cool, then. . ."

Mrs. Weasley was shocked. "**Boys! Don't encourage her**!"

Ginny laughed softly. "The manipulator hates to be manipulated." Mrs. Weasley looked about ready to breathe fire out of her nostrils. "Don't forget about the girls always having control over their men thing." Ginny said.

"Mom, she does have a point. You're kind of bitc-." She glared at the twin and both shut their mouths with audible snaps.

"-Barmy when it comes to us." Charlie said as he turned to the twins. "You two are eighteen year-old, it's about time you two quit with the complementary sentence thing." Before the two could respond, Tonks spoke.

"I don't care what guy think, I'm certain it was Draco who knocked me out."

"It wasn't Draco. It was Wormtail who knocked you out. He took some of Draco's hairs and added it to the Polyjuice potion. I told Draco to take you to the store and wait for me." Harry's voice boomed through the dome and he took a deep breath. "That's where Draco and I were going to get you and Ginny's engagement rings." Ginny looked to Draco for conformation.

He gave a quick nod and was almost knocked off his feet when Ginny attacked Draco a tight hug.

"You're not the only one talking to my mother." He said to her.

Tonks was looking around the dome and trying to locate Harry. "Where are you?" Tonks attempted to jump up but Ginny restrained her.

Dumbledore, who was being closely followed by Fudge, set about doing something to the dome's wards.

"What are you doing, Albus?" Fudge asked in a staged whisper as Tonks and Draco continued to talk to Harry.

"I'm trying to locate Harry, he seemed to have disappeared."

"Dumbledore, it's useless, you can't find me. The only was to find someone using that method is for them to let off a big emotion." Harry said in a small voice.

"Harry, where are you?" She asked again.

"I'm. . . okay. But I wish you would have told me about the pregnancy."

"_I_-How did you know?" She went pale.

Ginny answered for Harry.

"Draco told us."

Tonks' face lit up with satisfaction and anger as she turned to Draco. "I knew it was you who attacked me! I told you right before we entered the shop. Like two seconds later everything went dark-."

"Well duh." Draco replied angrily. "I was attacked too! I wish you would acknowledge that!"

_Potter. I hope you're enjoying the last view of your pregnant wench and you're ssscrawny little traitor._

Dumbledore. Cut the connection off. Harry said in a cold voice.

_But Harry-._

Just get it done, now! SH, you too. We already know each other's locations. We don't need anyone else finding them! Harry said.

_Harry, are you sure? _Dumbledore sounded confused.

**DO IT!** With a pop SH was gone from view.

Dumbledore, you too. . . Harry said.

"Harry!" Tonks cried out. But it was too late, with a pop Harry was gone.

_The Potter line endsss ssso quickly, it'sss a ssshame. But just think, if the filthy young traitor hadn't ssspilled the wench'sss sssecret, I never would have found out._ Furious, Dumbledore ended the connection, ending the visuals as well.

Everyone glared at Draco. Dumbledore sat on a newly conjured chair, he got rid of the ones that were conjured when Harry was in the dome, and began wearily contemplating. The Auror cast another set of stunners on the Death Eaters in the stretchers and began talking amongst themselves. Everyone else was looking at Ginny or Draco, some even began to approach Draco.

Ginny growled deep in her throat causing some people to take a step back from Draco. "For Merlin's sake! You people are like one of those medieval, bloodthirsty lynching committees. You are just waiting for people to punish, whether or not they're innocent. You make me sick!" They had the nerve to look ashamed. Seeing this infuriated Ginny more. "The enemy is out there, not in here, otherwise Harry would not have let him in. Stop fighting Draco, and start trying to figure out a way to fight the DEATH EATERS!" She screamed angrily.

There was an angry silence. They knew she was right, and so did she, but they did not want her to know that they knew. It was, however, evident on some of their faces that they wanted to be out there, fighting with SH and Harry and that they would if the dome was not in their way. Poor Madeye Moody looked close to crying at missing out on a chance of fighting Death Eaters.

Dumbledore suddenly got up from his chair, oblivious to the silence and the source of it, and began tampering with the dome's ward. Moody marched up to him. "You trying to figure a way out?" He asked hopefully.

"Yes, I have had enough of sitting around letting two teenagers fight a war against an army. Mr. Potter's intentions were good, but unfair towards himself and his counterpart." He got a curious look on his face before shaking it off and going back to what he was doing. Sweat began to appear on his brow. "Just a little bit mor - _there it is!_" Instead of the dome disappearing, it flashed a brilliant red color and went back to normal.

Dumbledore was puzzled. "I thoug-."

"Look." Someone shouted. A great bellow-like scream rang throughout the dome.

They blinked hard as they saw Harry tearing through the Dark Mass like a hot knife through a stick of butter. There was a definite sizzle. A fiery glow emitted from him. Harry mission was obvious. He was tearing towards SH, and he was striking the Death Eaters with viper-like speed. But still, no matter how hard he struck, the Death Eaters were closing in on him, keeping him from getting to SH. Even from the dome, they could see the desperation in Harry's attacks. He was not fighting just to fight, he was fighting to find and protect SH.

"He's a warrior, that boy." Moody said with an appreciative growl.

Confused, Hermione asked, "Which side of Harry are you speaking of?"

He turned to her, both eyes focusing on her. "Both, it-." Another bellow-like scream penetrated the dome interrupting Moody.

The scream came again. Sweat glistening on his brow, Dumbledore zoomed in on Harry, he was not causing the screaming nor was he the source. But he did look slightly pleased about something, perhaps the screaming. With a groan, the dome's magic focused on SH. His shield was long gone, he was furiously fighting the Death Eaters, along with some towering black-cloaked figures. His Patroni gleaming in the dark. He was not causing the screaming either.

"Dementors!" Fudge yelled in outrage. They had evacuated Azkaban of Dementors not long ago, on the request of Dumbledore. But still, it was felt as treachery before his eyes to see them fighting alongside of Voldemort.

"How did you do that, I thought the connection was off?" Draco asked Dumbledore.

"My mental connection with Fawkes." He paused before launching hurriedly into an explanation. "I knew the dome's magic could be adjusted to most types of mental connections, that was what one of its origin spells allowed. I could not focus on just anyone out there, obviously. So my next choice was my faithful companion. But infiltrating the mind of a magical creature is not easy by any means." He said, wiping the sweat from his brow. He turned back to the image. "But where did those screams come from?"

He pondered this deeply, the power of the dome focused back in on Harry. He had noticed the Dementors, he tried to produce a corporeal Patronus several times, but failed each time. The Death Eaters were not deterred in the slightest by the Death Eaters. They continued to press onto Harry with tremendous force.

Everyone accepted the inevitable. Harry and SH were not going to last long unaided.

"Dumbledore, we need to get out there." Moody said.

He nodded and opened his mouth to say something as the earth gave a terrible quake. Many inside and outside the dome toppled to the ground from the force of the shake.

"Oh what now!" Ginny moaned from Draco's arms. Dumbledore tried to focus the dome's magic from various angles to locate a source, but it was futile.

Remus rushed to Dumbledore. He looked pretty shook up, though most likely not by the quake. "Try focusing downward on the whole f-field." He stuttered slightly, felt bad for what he had done to Harry. They all did, those who did something.

The view changed soon afterwards. They saw the field. They saw the gleaming dome, like an orb sticking in the ground. There was a mass of black dots swarming around two points. At one point, which they assumed to be SH, silver specks were moving. SH was able to perform the charm whilst Harry could not. Jets of a multitude of colors flew towards both points but nothing else seemed to deviate from what they had seen from the other angles.

"Wait!" Draco said pointing. "Did you see that!"

Dumbledore wiped his brow again and stepped forward, "I don't see anything, Mr. Malfoy."

Draco was astounded as several others nodded with the Headmaster. "No one saw half a dozen of the Death Eaters around SH just disappear." Sure there was a slight disturbance around SH's point, but nothing that collaborated with Draco's statement.

Ron rolled his eyes. "Stop making stuff up. They said no one could leave the field. How cou-."

Ginny gasped, "Oh my sweet Merlin!" She pointed a shaky finger at SH's point. "Dumbledore, the Death Eaters are scattering around SH." Some tried to get closer to see. They had been telling the truth. Black dots were scattering and disappearing.

Dumbledore immediately went to a different angle. The image caused a number of people to become sick. SH was riding a snake, the word Basilisk comes to mind. In the snake's mouth were screaming Death Eaters. The snake swallowed them whole and went on to its next victims, squeezing, swatting and swallowing all the while scattering.

"I-It's a b-basilisk." Ron yelped.

"No, it's not." Tonks said quickly. She went red at being the center of attention as everyone was staring at her. "That's Harry's pet, Seth. He's an Elemental Snake. I'm guessing this is one of its abilities."

Dumbledore seemed to try and find a way to explain what had happened.

"Elemental Snake! How is that possible?" Fudge said, not giving Dumbledore the opportunity to speak.

"Harry believed that he and the snake meeting was a work of Fate. I'm surprised that I did not recognize the snake sooner. Harry sent it to me with his proposition for me to spy. I should not have  
missed the emerald-green snake-skin, with dark green eyes, and the odd pattern of stipes and diamonds. It's legendary." Draco said shaking his head at his mistake.

"Harry didn't make you any proposition." Tonks said angrily.

He turned to face her, glaring. "Before he met _you_, he did." He huffed.

"Professor Dumbledore?" An Auror said looking at the Headmaster with worry in her eyes.

"I never," He spoke softly and people had to strain to hear him, "I never quite understood the purpose of Elemental Snakes. I always believed the world was in suspended balance. One action could not entirely dominate over another forever. Something must happen for a shift to take place and a new action to counter the first. Everything must change, nothing stays the same, but there would be some balance at one point or another."

"That is of course what Arithmancy is. The study of the inner balance of things, with the use of numbers, though spells are more frequently analyzed. For every good, somewhere there will be a bad and vice versa. Put simply, and to quote one of my favorite muggles, 'for every reaction, there is an equal but opposite reaction'. But Elemental Snakes, who are supposed to bring a sort of balance, just do not fit into the 'equation' at all."

"Is this_ going_ anywhere, Professor?" Ron asked, several others glared at him.

Dumbledore shot him a look that made him go red in the face. "Yes it is, Mr. Weasley. Elemental Snakes have a purpose that was not meant for classifications. It was merely a helper. It chose whom it was going to help, good or bad, and did so. But whether the person was good or bad, was not the issue. It was whether or not they were causing an imbalance in the equilibrium, if I can call it that. If there was too much good, though it would be nice, it helped the bad."

This startled several people.

"You mean they can be dark?" Hermione said.

Dumbledore nodded. "To it, balance is peace, and peace is when both sides are at a standstill. Both sides are equally witted, numbered, to the point where neither can make a move on the other. This is shown from past recordings of Elemental Snakes. Merlin, it is said, created them for that reason."

"So, in order for there to be balance, we have to make peace with _Voldemort_! **Are you loony**!" Ginny said.

"_**GINNY!**_"

"No-well... maybe yes, but not to the Voldemort statement. Something will be done, bartering, however, is not an option anymore." He said gravely. "When the balance is there, they all disappear, like we've all believed them to have done, and when the balance is threatened considerably. . ." He trailed off.

"So this balance has to be in big danger for them to come back."

"That is the theory." Dumbledore said.

"So the balance was in danger and Voldemort was winning?" The person said.

Dumbledore nodded.

"What a lovely history lesson," Ginny mocked, "but, I would rather be out there making history and keeping those two from _becoming history_ than talking about it in here." Most gave their approval of her views. Fudge looked at her with interest.

Dumbledore nodded. "I agree, Ms. We-," She gave him a look, "-Mrs_. Malfoy_, but there is no way to leave the protection of the dome," He paused, "yet."

Fudge, who had been talking with one of his people, spoke to Dumbledore. "Supposing that there was an exit, how would we go about finding it?"

"If only Bill Weasley was here. He's a Curse Breaker, and is specialized in these specific types of wards." Tonks said.

Dumbledore's eyebrows rose to his hair line at Fudge's inquiry, along with a few others. "I suppose that copying Harry's actions might get us somewhere, but he was a Weaver." Fudge beckoned him over and they began talking in a small tone, heading towards the other end of the dome.

Ron charged to the surface of the dome. Hermione caught his arm. "Where are you going?" He looked at her and gave her one of his stubborn looks.

"If Harry can get through it so can w-."

"Look!" Someone yelped, interrupting their arguing..

SH had made it to Harry by riding on Seth's back. Death Eaters continued to send spells, but most of them hit Seth and caused no damage whatsoever. Harry was pulled onto Seth's scaly back by SH. Their reunion was short-lived as Dementors began swarming around them. Death Eaters were trying to find spaced through the cluster of Dementors to send their spells. But finally finding few or none, they pulled back. They had been, obviously, told to not harm the Dementors.

Harry and SH were trying to protect each other. Their Patroni were weak now and did nothing but keep the Dementors at bay.

"Why can't they make strong Patroni?" Hermione asked, shaking out of fright. Her grip on Ron's arm loosened. Things were running through his mind, if anyone had looked at his face, they probably would have known what he was going to do.

He looked at the scene in disdain. Harry and SH were suddenly thrown from Seth's back. They sent spells at the Death Eaters and Seth fought the Dementors. Suddenly a spell hit SH from behind, he fell to the ground in agony. Harry screamed and fought harder while putting up a barrier around SH. Some in the dome screamed as a spell struck Harry. He faltered but did not fall, he kept fighting, using one wand. Seth swiped the ground in an arc with its tail. Some Death Eaters went flying, others paused. Some, upon the threats Voldemort was making, continued to pursue. Seth gave a startling battle cry. They recognized it at the scream from earlier. Harry joined in with a battle cry of his own. SH, dismembering Harry's barrier, joined in as well and continued fighting.

Inside the dome, Ron suddenly turned and bolted towards the dome's barrier.

"RON!" Hermione yelled, everyone turned and watched in shock as Ron ran into the membrane of the dome.

"MR. WEASLEY!" Dumbledore yelled.

_But it was too late. . ._

* * *

As I said before, I love cliffhangers. How many seconds would have passed after five years? Think hard people! And I'll see you next chapter._  
_


	6. The Meeting Part 4

**_Friendship_**

**_The Meeting (Part 3)  
_**

_**Friendships are made at the strangest time and with the strangest people and things. Harry/Tonks. Harry finds out some things about himself, and Tonks learns more about Harry**_**_. Post OoTP_**

* * *

**SH-telepathy**

Harry-telepathy

_Dumbledore-telepathy_

* * *

"MR. WEASLEY!" Dumbledore yelled.

_It was too late..._

Ron dashed into the dome's membrane. He found himself stuck, almost suspended in midair.

_Let me go! I need to help Harry._

He struggled and struggled, and he opened his mouth and let loose a yell. It was bigger than a yell. It was a battle cry of his own, it blended with those of Harry, SH, and the snake, Seth.

Those inside the dome yelled for him to come back, or were completely stunned by the whole situation. The dome flashed a brilliant white color. Everyone shielded their eyes and ears as the light and Ron's battle cry suddenly hit them

Suddenly both were gone. They opened their eyes to see that Ron was no longer in the membrane of the dome. He was being catapulted from the dome's barrier and was running full speed towards the battle cry ringing loudly.

Mrs. Weasley gave a shriek. "_Dumbledore! Bring him back!_" Mrs. Weasley shouted. "_He's too young,_ _he'll be **killed!**_"

"There is nothing I can do yet," Dumbledore said softly, "we have not yet to figure out how to get out of the dome." He said touching the dome's barrier. It felt like a wall of light to him. Impenetrable. Several others touched the barrier as well; nothing should be able to get through it.

"It can't be that hard if Ron can do it!" She said desperately. Tears gushed out of her eyes. She banged on the dome causing it to barely undulate under her fists.

Dumbledore focused the dome's surveillance magic on Ron. He was shouting every curse, spell, and charm he knew, which was quite a few being around magic all of his life, at the nearest Death Eaters. They were now alerted of his presence.

As soon as the spells began to fly towards him, Mrs. Weasley began to bawl helplessly. Ron was hit with several curses before even having reached Harry's eyesight.

"Do something, Dumbledore!" Ginny whimpered. She was pale and shaking. She might have been angry with Ron but she would never wish death upon him, which was inevitable from the image.

"Where did that come from?" Dumbledore said suddenly. The magic of the dome was focused on an area a little way from Ron.

"Where did what com-."

Suddenly a snake, just as large as Seth, slithered on to the field. It headed straight for the battle. Its pattern glistened in the darkness. It seemed to be another Elemental Snake. It crossed the distance to the battle in no time. It gave a thunderous hiss that sent the hands of those in the dome over their ears.

The snake charged directly for Ron. There was a collective gasp as the snake coiled itself around Ron in the blink of an eye, effectively blocking him from the Death Eaters but most likely crushing him nonetheless. There was a loud scream from Ron and his battle cry was muffled.

Mrs. Weasley let loose another shriek of agony before collapsing in Charlie's arms in a fit of hysteria. Most seemed to have gone pale and turned away from the dome's image. It was just too much to see Ron crushed by the snake. Ginny rushed to her mother's side with tears in her eyes and immediately began pushing a potion down her throat.

Mrs. Weasley breathed calmly and more slowly, and she began to go limp in Charlie's arms. An Auror suddenly rushed from the other side of the dome and snatched the potion out of Ginny's hand. There was something amiss and all of the other Aurors tensed, . The Auror who had snatched the potion began to sniff it.

After a second, she looked at Ginny suspiciously, she seemed somewhat pleased with the results and yet disturbed by them at the same time. "A Soporific Potion, I know that smell anywhere." Ginny snatched the potion back before attempting to reapply it to her mother.

The Auror was shocked. She yanked Ginny away from her mother. Ginny pull out her wand, and the Aurors had their wands trained on her. "What do you think you're doing?" Ginny's jaw clenched tightly and she turned to Dumbledore.

"_GINNY!_" Hermione exclaimed angrily, the twins and Charlie were staring at Ginny with something akin to betrayal on their faces. Draco himself looked a bit stunned.

Dumbledore stepped forward, "Let her." He said gravely.

The female Auror was visibly taken aback. "But..."

"It will protect her from the battle. Do you really think she will be able to sit by and let us fight? Any of us, adults included? Her mothering instincts override her judgment some times. She is likely to get cursed from a Death Eater by protecting us, _and_ it would break her heart-." The Auror, while handing the potion back to Ginny, interrupted Ginny's explanation of her actions.

"We get the picture." She said apologetically before turning back to the dome's wall. She glanced at it briefly at first, and then she began to gaze at it intently as if studying the very threads of magic that made the image. She took a step forward as if to confirm something she saw. "Well, I'll be damned!"

"_What!_" Ginny said frightfully as she finished administering the potion to her mother. She turned and looked at the image, her eyes went large and she immediately paled. "**Merlin's shit**!" She whispered furiously, everyone heard her but no one corrected her language as most of them were thinking along the same lines.

The snake had not crushed Ron into a bloody stain on the grass, as they had expected. Quite the contrary, from the dome they saw Ron, still alive, riding on the back of the snake.

"I never thought I'd live to see the day when Ron would associate with a snake." Hermione whispered in disbelief.

"It's Elemental, it must have talked some sense into him." Draco reasoned.

Suddenly the snake gave a loud hiss and Ron brought forth his battle cry, and together they struck the Death Eaters with unadulterated rage. Harry and SH seemed to be strengthened by the support and began to fight harder. Seth slithered into the mass of Death Eaters and-.

Draco leaned against the side of the dome watching the action take place. _I wish I was out there, I could be helping. It just feels so right, that I should be out there._ Suddenly, he saw lightening in the image and it appeared to be coming from Seth's tail, he stood up straight. "Is that _lightening_ coming out of his tail?" Draco asked loudly, he was completed astounded. No one answered his question. He looked around him. Everyone was staring at him in awe. "_What_?"

No one spoke. He turned slowly to where their eyesight was focused, to where his hand met the dome. _There was nothing there_! With a gasp, he pulled his hand away and the area that had disappeared a second ago was back to the original structure as a barrier of the dome.

He swiped his hand at the dome's barrier where the phenomena had occurred. It felt like a wall again. _But-._ He pressed against the barrier. What happened next happened so fast that Draco was not sure it really happened at all. There was a blinding white light, a scream from behind him, and a force that pushed and tugged at him at the same time.

* * *

_** Draco's POV **_

* * *

It took a moment for his mind to register that he had gotten out of the dome. _How though?_ He looked at his hand; there was nothing special about this hand. His ring, the one that Harry had given to him, was on his other hand. That ring had been the first thing that came to his mind as a reason for his departure, but it-. 

A loud hiss made him look up. He jumped from the closeness of his face to that of Seth's. The snake was hissing something but Draco could not comprehend. _Why is the snake here? Shouldn't he be protecting Harry and SH!_ And he told that to Seth.

The snake hissed angrily. It turned and gave Draco a good view of its body. There were indents and marks from cursed that the Death Eaters had sent at him._ But what is the snake trying to say?_

The snake gave a hiss that almost sounded human. It sounded like 'ready'. Draco assumed that the snake wanted him to get on his back. He stood up, shaking slightly, and tried to get on Seth's back.

The snake suddenly pulled away. Draco stumbled forward a few steps. He turned to the snake, furious. "_What are you playing at!_" The snake hissed what seemed to be a sigh. It swung its head in an arc motion toward the dome and gestured to it with his tail. 'ready', he hissed again, 'isss read-.'

A spell came spinning out of nowhere. It zoomed and struck the dome behind Draco before bouncing back at the one who sent it. It had hit so close to Draco's head that he felt the anger from the caster and the power from the dome as it rebounded it. He quickly looked in the direction from whence the spell came.

"Oh, it's my treacherous, no good, traitor of a son!" Draco pale; his father was approaching his with several of his Death Eater buddies. Seth reared up his tail viciously and prepared to strike. The Death Eaters put up corporeal shields.

Seth's tail lashed at the ground a few meters away from the Death Eaters with no effect on them, they began to laugh darkly. Draco pressed himself up against the dome, which seemed very welcoming at the time. Seth looked at him sharply; his slanted, green eyes were piercing right through Draco. Without warning, Seth's tail launched towards him, it wrapped itself around his waist and yanked him away from the dome.

Draco saw an opening appear in the dome's barrier, where he had just been. His eyes went wide, his breathing was becoming shallow. Everything was getting too complicated to him. Just as the thought went through him, the ground rumbled. Draco could see the stones on the ground around them jumping. The Death Eaters were suddenly picked up and catapulted off their feet. With disturbing crunches, they hit the ground a long way from where Draco and the dome were.

Seth sat him back down. With his tail he pointed to the dome, the scars on his scales, and to the Death Eaters. 'isss ready' 'isss ready'. He repeated. _Is what ready?_ Draco thought to himself.

He shook his head from left to right showing confusion, "I don't understand you." He said a little frustration showing in his voice. The snake hissed angrily again, causing Draco to scoot back a bit. It struck its tail to the ground heavily like a human thumps his fingers against something when thinking hard. He looked towards the battle.

Draco stood up slowly. 'humansss', Seth hissed. He paused, thought hard again. He wrapped his tail around Draco's midsection. 'isss humansss ready', he turned Draco facing the dome and then the battle. What he was trying to say finally hit Draco, were those inside the dome ready to fight. Draco nodded vigorously; he soon got a headache.

He was dropped without care to the ground. He scrambled to his feet and Seth pointed his tail at the catapulted Death Eaters. Understanding his meaning, Draco grabbed his wand tightly and marched over to the fallen Death Eaters.

* * *

_** Third Person POV **_

* * *

Those inside the dome were looking at the side that made up a screen. They were not able to focus on Draco completely. Fawkes could not come too close to, or even look at, the Elemental Snake. Dumbledore had said something about interfering pride. 

They saw the catapulted Death Eaters hit the ground, some of those in the dome cheered, and a few moments later they saw Draco approaching the Death Eaters. Suddenly the image went dead. Dumbledore's eyes glazed over. He collapsed to the ground much to the shock of everyone. There were a few shouts and screams of surprise but suddenly the dome collapsed as well.

They all stood still, rooted to the ground, well-shocked and not knowing whether to run and fight, run and hide, or stay with Dumbledore. Ginny rushed forward and began checking Dumbledore. Several approached her for an explanation when she stood up and conjured a stretcher.

"Magical Exhaustion. He should be fine in a few hours." She breathe a sigh of relief.

"**_WHAT!_**" Several yelled. Fear was making itself known in their eyes.

"_Hours_! We need him _now_!" Remus protested. Others nodded and voice in their agreement.

Ginny scowled. "I can't believe you people. You're afraid to fight not that Dumbledore's not leading. You were _just_ complaining about how you wanted to fight, but couldn't. Look at you all, shaking and pale! _How on earth are we supposed to win with attitudes like this_?" She yelled. "If only I didn't have an obligation to these patients, I'd be out there fighting." Seth gave a loud hiss causing several people to jump.

Moody walked forward and charged off towards the battle, faster than they expected one with a wooden leg. Several others rushed off as well, but most lingered, looking at Dumbledore.

"**GO**!" Ginny yelled, startling them all. The look in her eyes sent more off. "Dumbledore will be fine."

Seth reared up; he gave a startling battle cry and slithered off towards the battle, reaching it in less than a minute. Others gave to leave.

"Wait!" Ginny said, stopping them. "_Everyone_ can't leave!" She pointed to the stretchers with the Death Eaters on them, whom she had yet to even look at. "Someone has to watch _them_ and hold down the fort." The Aurors that had originally guarded the Death Eaters promised to guard them once more. Snipe, however reluctant to leave the Death Eaters that Harry promised protection for, ran off into the battle.

He stopped halfway there. The catapulted Death Eaters were surrounding Draco. He rushed to them sending spells in quick succession, but he only took down two or three of the eightish group. Some turned to him and threw spells at him. He countered them effortlessly.

"The second traitor had finally shown his tail. And here I was thinking that we would be going back to the Dark Lord with only one traitor, he will be pleased." Said one of them. They were by no means playing nice with there spell work. Some were using spells that made even Snape's eyebrows rise.

Snape focused on Draco intently, causing him to fall victim to a spell or two. The Death Eaters, who he recognized as members of the Inner Circle, blocked his view of Draco. Draco was fighting the best he could, but he was not up to their level. And almost seconds later, green light flashed from within their blockade. Snape's heart sunk.

* * *

_** Ron's POV **_

* * *

Whether he should be disgusted at the thought of riding on the back of a slithering, slimy snake, or rejoicing that he had gotten out of the dome, Ron was not sure. All in all, they both puzzled him. Then the snake bellowed. Ron felt a chill run straight through his bones. There was such passion, such feeling, such loyalty in the bellow, that it almost hurt Ron. 

He felt the tension inside of him growing. He saw Harry and SH fighting the Death Eaters, and they were weakening by each spell they used. He made up his mind then and there; he opened his mouth and let loose a bellow of his own.

He raised his wand over his head and shouted, lights burst forth from his wand with no incantation or order. He did not feel the snake beneath him shiver at the power that he was showing, he did not see the Death Eaters back away from him, and he only saw Harry. Harry looked at him, brief shock crossed his features then he nodded. He and SH fought with newfound vigor and Ron ceased his battle cry, his throat a little sore, but his message had been delivered.

* * *

_** SH's POV **_

* * *

_It is times like these that I realize the deepness in which friendship and loyalty goes_, SH thought as he studied Harry's friend's demeanor. Harry, who, through their telepathic connection, was sending waves of relief and happiness, was fighting with new strength. A morsel of which was transferred to SH. 

He was rejuvenated immediately; it had been all he needed.

The Death Eaters had been terribly underestimated by Harry and himself, and he was sure that Voldemort was not even halfway finished with them. It was a battle whose ending was blatantly obvious to him. Still, if he could be anywhere else at the moment, he would still not leave Harry's side.

* * *

_** Third Person POV **_

* * *

The Aurors attacked the back lines of the Death Eaters. They did not have the maneuvers that SH and Harry had. Since there were no Death Eaters behind them, they could not hope the Death Eaters would take caution with their spells as not to hit one of their own. But the Aurors were arranged like sitting ducks, and even though they fought valiantly, one after one they fell victim to the barrage of spells sent at them. 

The Order followed the snake, Seth, penetrating as far as they could into the battle, taking no prisoners, unlike the Aurors. They had the security of the maneuver that was denied to the Aurors, but that did not make them any luckier. They had infiltrated a part of the Masses that was occupied by the more senior and experienced Death Eaters.

They fought for their lives, the Wizard World, and everything else that was on the line, yet, though many of them fell, the Dark Masses never receded. Those who fell were not picked up or cared for in the Dark Masses. Soon dents in the Masses began appearing around the remaining Auror's, the Order members, and Ron. But even that was not enough, the future looked bleak.

Harry was watching a speck in the sky, a reddish, golden speck. He willed for it to come closer. Within it seemed to be relief and alleviation, Harry begged for that, for it to come closer. He was not sure how much more he would be able to take. Suddenly, the speck was gone. He looked around in shock, ignoring the taunts and provoking of the Death Eaters. Still, no speck was in the sky.

One of his arms felt like lead; he had been hit by two spells while looking for the speck. There was a flash of light, then an explosion of flames where he and SH had just been. Harry felt tremendous heat from the inferno in which he and SH was standing. Soon there was heat, yet there were no pains, burns, or combustions, which Harry had expected to happen to someone in such a hellish condition.

Flames as tall as street lamps, Harry was sure that they were not on the field anymore. He voiced that to SH. The flames licked at Harry softly soon afterwards, the heat died away but the flames did not. He looked to his right and saw SH gasping for air. He soon realized that he was too. _What's happening?_

"_Breathe, young humans, we do not have much time._" A soft, yet strong and sagacious voice said from within the inferno vicinity. He and SH looked around, both pairs of eyes landed on the figure of Fawkes at the same time.

"You can spe-."

"Where are we?" SH asked rudely, cutting Harry off. "Whatever it is, it can wait, we have to get back and win th-."

The heat was felt strongly, it scorched so quickly Harry's clothes melted away into nothing, his hair burned away and his skin blackened in a second. He screamed, he looked to SH, he was experiencing similar problems. Fawkes waved a wing and their hairs, skin, and clothes were back to normal.

"_You **must** listen, I can not keep you here for long and there are things that are needed to be said. The battle had turned, the mighty have fallen, there is only one way to ensure balance_."

Harry took notice of the fact that Fawkes said balance and not victory, but he was resolved to think about that at the moment. Fawkes eyes were suddenly on his and the phoenix was hovering in front of him within a second's time.

"You see, Master Harry, what the heart denies. Look into the eyes of your enemy and make the choice that will save the world." Then there was a flash of light, the inferno disappeared. They were no longer in the battle either.

To everyone else, this took place in the time span of a few minutes, rather than seconds. It appeared to be that Harry and SH combusted and took out a large number of Death Eaters around them. There was a complete standstill in the battle. A great gapping whole stood where Harry and SH once stood.

Remus roared with the might of the werewolf within him, he lashed out at the immobilized Death Eaters in fury and in the guilt of his treatment of Harry. The Order and the Aurors followed suit, the Death Eaters were driven into a state of frenzy.

Seth and the other snake lifted up their tails from the ground, with a burst of red light, great lines of lava and lightening shot forth and reaped terror upon the Death Eaters.

* * *

_** Draco's POV **_

* * *

"_NO!_" He yelled as the green light flashed towards his closest companion. Draco watched as Snape fell victim to the Killing Curse. He, in a fit of rage, yelled the exact same curse at the one who killing his mentor, his father. 

There was no movement, then his father pointed his wand at one of the other Death Eaters and the person was thrown in front of him as the curse was nearly upon him. The person fell dead to the ground with a 'thud'. Draco instantly recognized the beautiful features of his mother underneath the mask.

Draco raised his wand shakily against his father. Suddenly two of the five remaining Death Eaters facing him dropped to the ground, dead, before they had even reached it. They had surprised looks on their faces. Another Death Eater turned to stare at something behind Draco, he dropped dead too. Draco saw his father and his Aunt Bellatrix turn away quickly. They ran towards the battle and away from Draco with unimaginable speed.

Draco took them both down with the Killing Curse; the feeling of unimaginable delight that washed through him was ignored. He slowly turned to see what had literally scared the Death Eaters to death. With eyes opened wide, he threw away his caution and found himself staring at...

An enormous snake with closed eye!,He was startled out of his wits when one of the Aurors who remained behind began yelling and running towards them. "Basilisk, BASILISK!"

Draco saw the snake's head snap in the Auror's direction. The eyelids began to slowly open.

"_NO_!" Draco yelled. He conjured up a shield around them, tall enough to hide all of the King of Snakes' height therefore his gaze, but not the width. A spell from the Auror grazed the great beast, the eyelids opened up a little more. Draco saw a bit of the eye, but not much. His body still seized up. "**NO!** Don't open your eyes, he's just scared!" He shouted at the snake in desperation.

The snake's eyes snapped shut. Draco was released from his seizure and he immediately confronted the idiot Auror. After explaining that it meant _them_ no harm and that the snake had just saved his life, the Auror relented. He gave Draco a disgusted look and stood there, as if wanting to be sure of it and to catch Draco if he were to turncoats.

"Harry has snakes too." Draco said, noticing the basilisk's erecting when he claimed possession of it. Draco was, too, surprised himself by his possessive attitude towards the snake.

The Auror looked resolute, "Potter is special and is light all the way through." Draco did not respond to that, he did not know how to respond.

The snake wrapped his tail around Draco, tossed him onto his back and, with his eyes supposedly closed, for Draco could not see from his position, headed towards the battle.

* * *

_** Omniscient POV **_

* * *

_The irony of it all!_ Snakes fighting against the very people who claim to the followers of "The Snake". Voldemort may, in his disfigurement and intensive dark transformations, assumed the likeness of a snake, and may even have one in his possession, but he did not have the respect of all the snakes. 

The Death Eaters, at the arrival of the Basilisk, were quickly dissipated as was their rage and spirits; they turned and ran to the safety of their shocked leader. But the damaged had been done, of the mass of the congregation that had assembled there hours before, only a little more than a third survived.

The field was blanketed with the bodies of Death Eaters, eyes open and mouths agape. And several of the Order and even more of the Aurors went down with the lengthy gaze of the King of Snakes.

The battle seemed to be in withdrawal. The Aurors and the Order members were regrouping at the end of the field; opposite to where the Death Eaters were regrouping. From their end, the Order and the Aurors were approached by the Basilisk and the two Elemental Snakes. Draco calmed their nerves to the best of his ability and dismounted from the Basilisk, whose eyes were focused in the opposite direction, Ron did the likewise with the Elemental Snake. The three snakes, one with its eyes turned away from the Order and Aurors, conversed in their language while everyone else was speaking in theirs.

"It's about time for the change of tides." Ron said breathlessly, with sweat and blood glistening on his brow. Draco nodded stiffly to him

"The snakes..." Inquired the Minister, who had exceeded all reclusive expectation of himself by fighting with and like the best of them, he look weary and a little skittish.

"The snakes are on Harry's side." Draco said with a sigh. His heart was racing with maximized passion as were the rest of them.

Charlie, who was sporting a hideous scar on his left cheek, looked amongst them with surprise. "Speaking of which, where is Harry?"

"And SH?" Said Draco, imitating Charlie's inquisitive demeanor. "They were just there-."

"Then they were swallowed up by the fire-explosion." The Minister said shakily. All eyes snapped to him, even those of two of the snakes. "Wha-."

"What are-." Ron started.

"_Where_ did this happen?" Draco asked with haste. The Minister pointed to an area of the field that had a large gaping hole in it.

"They disappeared with in an explosion of fire, Dumbledore's bird as well." An Auror said. "Come to think of it, the Dementors disappeared as well."

It was obvious to them now that some of them had seen the combustion, mostly those facing that direction and those in the vicinity of the explosion. Those who fit into the genre gave more insight into the matter. They discussed amongst themselves what had happened and the fate of their two saviors.

They were almost upturned by a great quake. Heads, of both humans and snakes, snapped to the area where the Death Eaters had assembled around their leader. Once more the gaze of the Basilisk felled several of the Death Eaters. Voldemort could be heard screaming. The tremors then stopped.

_**BOOM**_

There was a great upheaval of earth and rocks and an explosion of fire within the midst of the Death Eater forces. The ground oscillated beneath their feet in the aftershock of the upheaval and explosion.

The Order members and the Aurors withheld their breath, _what concoction had Voldemort unearthed now_!

Suddenly Seth hissed deeply within his body, there was suddenly a vibration that struck those nearest to him. 'Harry', he had hissed in a very humanoid accent. He took off in the direction, slithering over the bodies of the fallen without care of any respect. The other two snakes waited for Draco and Ron, who jumped on their back immediately. With their passengers on board, they slithered off at a speed unmatched by Seth.

The Aurors and the Order stood shell-shocked. Suddenly, Minister Fudge puffed up and gave an order. "Deitris, take a team into the field and pick up any fallen allies. Everyone else, let's go." He dashed off with an uncharacteristic passion. The battle had moved the man in a manner that had everyone incredulous.

No one had moved. The Aurors soon dispersed and followed the Minister. Once they were off, others followed.

* * *

_** Harry's POV **_

* * *

The battle had moved about them before he and SH knew what was going on. The end was near, Harry could smell it. The fierceness, and the desperation that emanated from the moves of the Death Eaters, was evidence of a conclusion to the battle. 

Harry looked at the Order members that were fighting and noticed immediately Dumbledore's absence, but he could not find the strength to ask any of them the question. But the waned light in the eyes of the Order members was evident that something of a bad nature had occurred.

"So, Potter, you do not fight a battle that you swore your life to." The voice that caused a chill to go down Harry's spine. SH grabbed Harry protectively and Harry watched in horror, but unable to do anything from the stupor that had seized him, as SH fell victim to a spell that made him fall bonelessly to the ground.

Harry turned to meet the face of the one whose very existence ruined his own. The one who ruined every opportunity of happiness that could have befell Harry. They very pinprick of his essence. The one who took his parents away from him. _The bastard who took my godfather away from me._

Rage poured forth from his very pores. There were red spots before his eyes. If he had looked up, he would have seen clouds gathering there with bolts of white lightening flashing. There was a large boom that uprooted trees in the vicinity and caused those around Harry to topple to the ground.

There was a rush of activity around him, after that point, yet he paid no attention whatsoever to it. His focus was on Voldemort. The man, if he may be called that, was looking at Harry with a look full of malice so tangible that Harry felt it strangling him. It was scary and comforting at the same time that another was matching his anger.

"_Remember, young human, young Chosen One, look into the eyes of the enemy, see what the heart and world deems impossible._" The voice vibrated from within him.

SH gave a stir from his side on the ground. Harry tried to block out his anger; he tried to put aside his feelings. It was just too much, he could not do it. He could not listen to what he believed Fawkes to be saying to him. He could not let this bastard live and reign and terrorize anyone. His wand hand rose, his mind shifted, the end of the life of the 'man' in front of him was the only thing on his mind.

"_Remember..._" The voice dimmed slightly. Harry could feel the tension building in his heart. He fought his desire for the death of the tormentor of his very soul. He could feel the gazes of the others upon him. Lightening flashed in his vision, and he was seeing it for the first time. Not the lightening, not the fear he saw in the eyes of his enemy, to only thing he saw was the flame above the head of Voldemort and forced himself to look the man in the eye.

Images flashed through his mind. He had seen most of them before; they were the same as those he had seen with the exorcism of SH. But the most reoccurring image, the only reoccurring image, was that of Tom Riddle's sister. The split of darkness and light was strong whenever the image was produced. With a sigh, a sigh that was out of place in the situation, Harry murmured a spell.

"_Extromnea Extracta_." The wind picked up; lightening struck the earth around them. Voldemort conjured up several shields and each one failed to save him. They crumbled as lightening struck and dispelled them.

The power behind the spell was painful. Harry felt as if he were dying. He hit the ground next to SH and clamored over to his knees. A scream pierced the air and rain began to fall like hail. Harry covered SH's now shivering body with his own as the pain began to make him seize up. He collapsed with the last of his strength as another body, hit the ground beside him.

* * *

_**? I wanted to stop here but I couldn't leave you guys hanging ? **_

* * *

Blinding white light. _Why the light, is this heaven_? Harry closed his eyes as soon as they were opened. His body was numb from the neck down, he was afraid to even _try_ to move. He tried once more to open his eyes; this time he kept them open regardless of the sting that was felt with them.

He was beginning to get frustrated; he now began to try to move his body with no avail. He worked futilely. His agitation increased as his tries increased, and failed.

"You did well young savior." He heard the voice. He gave a sigh and relaxed.

**Thank you**. Said a voice that Harry knew well.

I don't think he was talking to you, SH! Harry said with a humorless laugh.

_Exactly, Mr. Potter! I do believe he was speaking to both of you. _

Dumbledore! Harry's eyes searched in the white brightness for the man, or any others. Where am I?

_Mr. Potter, I dare say, you do amaze me sometimes!_ Dumbledore gave a laugh.

"You of all people should be very used to and immune to these surroundings." Dumbledore said looming into view over him. Harry saw him with some haze in his eyes. Dumbledore moved out of his line of vision and reappeared soon afterwards.

He placed something on Harry's face, over his eyes. With his glasses on, Harry saw Dumbledore more clearly. "Why-."

"Your magic, which healed your eyesight this summer, is recuperating from the mass amounts of magic that were applied to the-."

"Albus!" Came a cry from behind Dumbledore. "I told you to tell me once to boy had awakened!" Dumbledore gave an innocent smile.

_It must have slipped my mind!_ Harry and SH shared a laugh. 

Harry was administered a potion. The numbness in his body, which had been caused by his magic and his body recuperating. He tried to sit up immediately, Madam Pomfrey, instead of yelling at him, assisted him, much to his surprise.

Once he was in a propped-up position, she leaned over and gave him a soft hug and a bit of appraisal. "Good job."

Harry turned to Dumbledore, "Does this mean-."

"Yes, Mr. otter, Lord Voldemort is no more." Harry knew something was up as soon as the words left the man's mouth.

"What's wrong, what ha-." 

**It's best if I tell you, Harry.** SH said from the recessed of his mind.

Tell me what! What is going on? Harry was scared out of his wits.

**Well... I'm no longer a person, not physically anyway. **

Huh?

**Your magic needed to recuperate, and me being partially apart of your magic, went with it as it recovered. Don't worry, we can perform the exorcist ritual again. **Something was wrong with how he said that...

You're hiding something. Harry was getting more and more anxious and mad, by the word.

**Once we do this again, we will not be parts of a whole; we will be even more separate, more individual. **

What's wrong with that?

**Nothing, that's not the problem. The problem is that I can't have another body, your magic can't make another one, and the body that we made together is pretty damaged from the fighting and from Voldemort's spells, so if we do the ritual, there is the possibility that I might...  
**

Harry felt his heart constrict. But, surely, there has to be something that you- that we-.

_Don't worry Mr. Potter, everything that can be done is being done. I assure you. That is not the main issues at hand, Mr. Potters._

**That's all I had to say.** SH said with surprise and a little apprehension.

When there's more, there's more trouble. Harry said with a mental shudder at the memory of the Trelawney prophecy in Dumbledore's office.

Dumbledore sighed mentally._ Mr. Potters - Harry and SH - I would like for you to meet Tom Riddle. _

_Hi_. A voice Harry remembered vaguely from the Chamber of Secrets said tentatively.

There was silence before SH shouted in outrage, **WHAT! WE JUST GOT THROUGH DESTROYING THE BASTARD, HOW-.**

You helped? Harry asked suddenly.

SH sounded a bit hurt. **Of course I did, before you went unconscious, I finished the curse that you started. **

Sorry, I just didn-.

SH interrupted him.** Back to the Voldemort thing, Dumbledore, what kind of joke it this!**

"No joke, young savior. The ritual that you preformed was thought through correctly by your counterpart. Master Harry, you chose the right decision." Fawkes said from his position on Dumbledore's shoulders.

So what you were trying to tell us was that there was some good in Voldemort, his younger self- that's why he had the black flame with some white in it!

**I-I-.** SH was stunned.

_Not that there was some good in him, Mr. Potter, that there was a time when he had feeling and emotion that are associated with someone "good", I speak of his care of his sister. You awoke the old feelings and exorcised the person, the Tom Riddle, before the evil manifestation._

**So we have a 'good Voldemort' on our hands now, does anyone besides me see that potential danger in this!**

_ I would prefer if you did not call me 'Voldemort. I am not my future self. _

**You will be though... In the future. **

SO... Dumbledore, what's happening in the outside world? Harry asked, mentally while Madam Pomfrey fretted over him and the other two bodies in the room. One being SH and a spitting image of the boy he had witnessed in the memory. _He was a fourteen year-old_.

_The Minister has proclaimed the death of Voldemort. Only those in this room know of Tom, I would like to keep it that way. _

How many did we lose? Harry's tone was morose, duplicated by Dumbledore.

_Many died in the battle, all of which received the Order of Merlin Second Class. The ceremony was two weeks ago._

How long have I been out? Harry asked.

**We.** SH corrected.

_Two months_.

**Two months!** Harry and SH said at the same time.

_Yes, and you two were awarded the Order of Merlin First Class; there is still an argument on which of the two of you were the youngest to receive the award._ Dumbledore said happily, it was easy to tell who started the debate.

Harry resumed on a melancholy note. Did we lose anyone I know?

_I wish not to ruin your reunion. _

Is Tonks okay-. Harry's mind teemed with all of the possible maladies that could have befallen Tonks and the baby.

He spoke before Dumbledore could answer Harry. **What about my Death Eater, Joshua What's-his-face? **

_All fine-._ Harry interrupted Dumbledore.

And Draco, Ginny, and-.

_All fine._ Dumbledore said too quickly for Harry's liking.

**Well, they aren't truly fine; they just fought a war**. SH said with malice oozing out of every word.

_I'm sorry for what my future, evil, self did, I wish I could have-._

**Helped him! I'm sure you would have, if you could.** SH finished angrily.

This is the beginning of a wonderful friendship. SH and Tom continued to bicker in the background. Dumbledore snorted.

* * *

**_Fin, or maybe not!_**


End file.
